Surge in Chagos arrivals prompts row over housing costs

The UK government is facing calls to support Chagos Islanders who need temporary housing after a surge of them arrived in the country to claim their right to British citizenship.

Hillingdon Council said 152 Chagossians had arrived at Heathrow Airport in the borough this week so far, bringing the total to over 600 since last July.

The Tory-run council says it expects to spend £2m this year on its legal duty to help homeless British-Chagossians, putting pressure on stretched housing resources and “breaking” its finances.

Many of the Chagossians are coming from Mauritius because they say they feel unsafe there after the UK government agreed a deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to the country.

The UK government said Chagossians were expected to make their own housing arrangements prior to travelling and argued the influx of arrivals was “completely unrelated” to the Chagos Islands deal with Mauritius.

The Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, then an overseas territory of the UK, was transformed into a military base in the 1960s and the entire population was forced to move out, mainly to Mauritius or the Seychelles.

But in 2002, a limited number of Chagossians were granted the right to full British citizenship. Several thousand now live in the UK, incuding an expat population of 3,000 in Crawley, West Sussex

Then in November 2022, the government launched a new British nationality route which was widened to all individuals of Chagossian descent, living anywhere in the world, permitting them to be recognised as British citizens free of charge.

Adults have five years, from 23 November 2022, to claim British nationality. Children born within the five-year application time have until they are 23 to apply.

This predated the the UK government’s decision this year to sign a deal to hand ownership of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.

Under the deal, the UK has agreed to pay £101m annually for 99 years to keep control of the UK-US military base that was built on Diego Garcia – the largest of the islands.

The deal has not gone down well with many Chagossians, who see it as a betrayal and want to see the UK retain sovereignty over the islands so they can one day return to their homeland.

Some fear they could be prosecuted by Mauritian authorities for supporting UK sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.

Damien Dursonial, 35, landed at Heathrow with his wife and two children, aged four and six, on Wednesday this week.

Born in Mauritius, where he worked as a police constable, Mr Dursonial saved up for two years and sold his motorcycle to pay for the flights to the UK.

“I came to the UK because it was the only place where we could feel safe, respected and recognised as a British citizen,” Mr Dursonial said.

“As a Chagossian in Mauritius, we faced real threats by simply identifying as British or supporting UK sovereignty over the Chagos islands.”

Mr Dursonial and his family have been placed in temporary accommodation by Hillingdon Council, in West London.

But he said: “The government should have done this because all this work is falling on a local council.

“It had to spend about £1.2m. Whereas ministers are giving away the Chagos Archipelago and taxpayer funds to Mauritius.”

Hillingdon Council says it is at risk of going effectively bankrupt and has put in a request for exceptional financial support from the government.

It is aiming to cut spending by £38m this year, the largest savings target the council has ever undertaken.

“It’s breaking the council,” Steve Tuckwell, the cabinet member for planning, housing and growth at the Conservative-run council, told the BBC.

“It’s taking away hard-earned taxpayers’ money from core services.”

Tuckwell, a former Tory MP, said the council had written to ministers asking for funding to support Chagossians but had not received any responses.

“I’m calling on the government to do the right thing,” Tuckwell said. “Stop this burden on Hillingdon taxpayers. The bank account is running dry.”

The Chagos Islands have been under British control since 1814 and became formally established as an overseas territory after the UK government bought the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.

The islanders were evicted between 1967 and 1973 to create a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.

The global population of Chagossians is estimated to be about 10,000, with many of them living in Mauritius, the Seychelles or the UK.

Vanessa Mandarin Calu, who works with Biot Citizen, said many British-Chagossians were temporarily settling in the UK while they wait to return to their homeland.

“Our homeland is a British Overseas Territory – the government should create a clear pathway for British-Chagossians instead of handing our territory to another country without consulting us,” Ms Mandarin Calu said.

Hillingdon Council opened a pop-up processing centre in the borough this week to deal with the surge in Chagossian arrivals.

Local authorities have a legal duty to help eligible people who are homeless and provide temporary accommodation for families with dependents.

As British citizens, people of Chagossian descent are entitled to the same support as any other homeless person with a UK passport.

The council says it is already struggling to support asylum seekers placed in the borough by the Home Office.

A government spokesperson said: “Chagossians travelling to the United Kingdom are expected to arrange their own accommodation prior to arrival.

“Hillingdon Council has received funding to provide support in cases where immediate local pressures arise and cannot be resolved through standard contingency measures, with support for all local authorities kept under ongoing review.

“This is completely unrelated to the Diego Garcia Military Base agreement signed with Mauritius.

“In November 2022, the last government launched a route to British citizenship for the descendants of those born on the Chagos Archipelago. The Diego Garcia agreement has no impact on this.”