Chagos Islands: Call to Action - Message from Peter Lamb MP (Crawley)

Ahead of the 'FOTBOT Chagos Islands: Call to Action' event on 12th November, Peter Lamb, Member of Parliament for Crawley - home to the largest Chagossian population in the UK, sent the following message:

I am very sorry that business in Parliament prevents me from being with you in person tonight, but be in no doubt that I am here with you in spirit.

For over 60 years, the United Kingdom has borne the guilt of how we have treated the Chagossian people, and of how we go on treating you today.

We owe a debt so great it can never be fully repaid. Whatever the intentions of the Foreign Office in making this deal, its passage would deprive the UK of any way of ever making right the wrong done to your people.

Our cause is a moral one. It is about the most basic right of all peoples, the right to self-determination, as enshrined in the UN Charter.

It is your right to decide the future of your homeland, it is your right to decide the future of your people, and whatever you decide, know that I will stand with you.

There is much to be done over the next few months if we are to ensure that the voice of the Chagossian people is heard loud and clear.

Most MPs do not know your history, they do not know that they are acting as masters of another people’s land, and as we educate them of the reality I see their opinions change.

The more we can do to raise awareness, be it through the press, protests, or direct contact with MPs, the more allies we will find until the Foreign Office has no choice but to recognise your right to self-determination.

It’s a fight we can win and I look forward to campaigning alongside you in this just cause.

Peter Lamb, Member of Parliament for Crawley.