The Hillingdon 9
EXCLUSIVE
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EXCLUSIVE –
Tessa Clarke reports on the case of the Hillingdon 9On 11 February 2025 nine British Chagossians arrived at Heathrow Airport from Mauritius to relocate to the UK.
Those interviewed exclusively for THE CHAGOS FILES told us they were fleeing Mauritius after the UK government agreed to hand sovereignty of their and their parents’ birthplace - The Chagos Islands - to Mauritius back in October 2024.
Although families are given temporary accommodation, the nine adult individuals in this case were told by Hillingdon Council they were not eligible. The Hillingdon 9 were homeless.
For several nights they slept rough outside the Council offices in very cold nightly temperatures. One man ended up in hospital, and is still there.
On 20 February 2025 THE CHAGOS FILES team talked to the Hillingdon 9 as they visited the Council to ask again for emergency accommodation.
They were refused.
Last week Government announced that up to 18,000 new social and affordable homes will be built with a £2 billion injection of investment to deliver the Prime Minister’s Plan for Change.
This is to help “hard working families get safe and secure homes and kickstarting economic growth are driving the government’s agenda.”
Will homeless Chagossians in Britain be eligible?
THE CHAGOS FILES contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). We asked whether Chagossians forcibly removed from their homes in the Chagos Islands and their families will be considered for the new funding?
The MHCLG replied that all British citizens, including those of Chagossian origin, are entitled to the same support. Where someone is eligible for social housing they will have their housing needs considered on the same basis as other eligible applicants in accordance with the local authority’s housing allocation scheme.
UPDATED alexia psalti & Tessa Clarke/18 April 2025