Even more petitions against the undemocratic Chagos sovereignty deal

Thousands of people are starting to mobilise against the Government’s Chagos Island sovereignty deal

A view of Salomon Atoll, part of the Chagos Archipelago. Image by Anne Sheppard via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

THE CHAGOS FILES spotted the rising number of petitions organised against the Chagos Islands sovereignty deal the Government is so keen on, last month.

Now we can report that there are two more petitions launched in the past week:

• One is a Great British PAC Crowdfunder to raise money to support a Judicial Review of Sir Keir Starmer’s sovereignty deal
  
  The Stop the Chagos Betrayal campaign on Crowdfunder aims to raise £20,000 to support a Judicial Review challenging the deal. The campaign led by Miseley Mandarin, head of BIOT Citizen campaign group, with the support of the Great British PAC and Chairman Ben Habib, contends that this deal, made without public consultation or parliamentary approval, undermines British sovereignty, disregards the rights of the Chagossian people, and compromises national security. 
  
  The legal challenge asserts that the government's actions violate the Equality Act 2010 and international law, particularly by failing to consult affected communities. 
  
  Funds raised will underwrite potential legal costs ensuring that the case can proceed without financial risk to the claimant. Any surplus will support future transparency initiatives or be donated to relevant justice or displacement charities.
  
  As of today the campaign has raised £2,858 from 105 supporters, with 41 days remaining to reach its £20,000 goal.
  

• Another petition is launched today by Friends of the Overseas Territories [FOTBOT] encouraging people to write to their MP 
  
  The FOTBOT campaign calls on supporters to urgently contact their MPs and oppose the agreement. The email template argues that the deal undermines the self-determination of Chagossians and ignores the will of British taxpayers. 
  
  It warns that transferring sovereignty threatens UK and Western security particularly given Diego Garcia’s critical strategic role, hands control of Chagossian funds to Mauritius, a state increasingly aligned with China, and sets a troubling legal and political precedent for other UK Overseas Territories.
  

• And a previously organised petition, the Great British PAC petition, has now more than 10,000 signatories, as reported in the Conservative Post.
  
  The petition urges Parliament to reject the Chagos agreement, calling it unlawful, undemocratic, and morally indefensible. 
  
  Signed without public consultation or safeguards for the Chagossian people, many of whom are British citizens who have faced persecution in Mauritius, the petition argues that the deal risks betraying an already displaced community, wasting billions in taxpayer money, undermining national security, and damaging one of the world’s most biodiverse marine environments.
  
  Though the agreement has been signed and is not yet ratified, campaigners are calling on MPs to defend sovereignty, justice, and the national interest by voting it down.

Tessa Clarke and Alexia Psalti/2 June 2025. Updated: 3 June 2025 CF. https://conservativepost.co.uk/judicial-review-crowdfunder-launched-to-stop-the-chagos-betrayal-before-its-too-late/