In Tutela Nostra Limuria?

The Conservatives had been all ready to do the same thing with the Chagos Islands. It is the wrong question, but while those may be a long way from Mauritius, they are an awful lot further from Britain.

Warmly welcomed by the United States, Britain has saved the American base, which is the problem, and for which we are going to be paying the rent. They use the dollar on Diego Garcia, they drive on the right, and if your British passport could get you there, then the Chagossians would have done it by now. They were wronged by a Labour Government, another Labour Government compounded the wrong, and the base was crucial to that latter's catastrophic wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Mauritians have also mistreated them, but why are this Labour Government's ostensible opponents so keen to defend previous Labour Governments' abuse of British citizens in the service of a foreign power?

The Americans would be indifferent as to a transfer of the Falkland Islands to Argentina, or of Gibraltar to Spain, and most or all of the United States would have a public holiday to inaugurate the United Ireland that most people, whether they liked it or not, now regarded as an inevitability in this generation, as it would have been no matter what had happened in the last one.

There was no referendum before the forced eviction of the British inhabitants of the Chagos Islands by Denis Healey, who went on to inflict monetarism on Britain, all in all making him one of the most disgraceful politicians that even Britain has ever produced. But there has been a referendum in the Falkland Islands, and there has been a referendum in Gibraltar. The rules are different for white people.

There are now a lot of Saint Helenians on the Falklands, but they are never shown on television over here. The people who decide these things know their audience. At the 2022 Festival of Remembrance, there were teenagers from the Falklands who were studying in Britain. They were all white. That was not an accurate reflection. But it was a politic one. As Margaret Thatcher said, "They are of British stock."

Meanwhile, since the British Right always needs a Fatherland away from the National Health Service, the present one is Argentina. Even as Javier Milei goes cap-in-hand to China. Leaving aside on which of them apart from Diego Garcia it could possibly be, what would a Chinese base on a Chagos Island be used for? An invasion of Britain? If not, then why should we care?

The point here is the injustice against the Chagossian people. By a Labour Government, and compounded by another one when David Miliband had his ruse to turn the archipelago into a marine protection area. They are so numerous in Crawley because they were simply dumped at Gatwick Airport, often sleeping for weeks on the seats and the floor. We shall see, but this deal would seem to do little or nothing for them, as the Mauritians have always done little or nothing for them. I do hope that I am wrong. This deal has been welcomed by valiant veterans in this field, very close to the Chagossians themselves, such as Mark Seddon and Jeremy Corbyn. From his parliamentary base, Corbyn should and will keep a very close eye on developments.

On 24 September, I do not think that Baroness Chapman of Darlington was lying when she told the House of Lords that it was "too early to speculate on timelines of conclusions". She was honestly mistaken, because why would anyone tell her something like this? Her Ministerial salary is purely child support. And that is why that story matters.