A Labour minister has said a deal to pay Saint Helena more than £6.5million to take in migrants who arrive on the Chagos Islands is a ‘win-win’.
The Foreign Office minister responsible for Britain’s overseas territories, Stephen Doughty, told the House of Commons it is an “interim contingency solution” before sovereignty of the Chagos Islands is relinquished.
It comes after it was announced the UK is giving up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, part of British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) to Mauritius.
The minister also insisted there was “no comparison” between Labour’s deal with Saint Helena and the now-scrapped Rwanda scheme.
Stephen Doughty said there is ‘no comparison’ between the Rwanda scheme and the Government’s proposal
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Shadow foreign secretary Andrew Mitchell had raised concerns that “an influx of migrants could adversely impact what is a very tight-knit local community in St Helena, adding: “What is the estimated number of migrants that will be sent to St Helena? Bearing in mind that the entire population is less than 5,000, will he be imposing, an admittedly low, but nevertheless, a limit?”
Mitchell went on to say: “We do not oppose the principle of offshoring, but we are perplexed by the Government’s choice of destination, a small British overseas territory, which is thousands of miles from Diego Garcia. Not least because a number of asylum seekers who landed on the British Indian Ocean Territory have already been transferred to Rwanda.
“Labour has of course scrapped the Rwanda scheme, so can the minister tell the House whether the Government’s approach has now changed, and does the Government welcome offshoring as a means of injecting deterrence within the complexities of illegal migration?”
Doughty, the MP for Cardiff South and Penarth, replied: “What we are doing is providing pragmatic and practical solutions to respond to the situation that we inherited. There is no comparison with the Rwanda scheme.”
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Shadow foreign secretary and MP for Sutton Coldfield Andrew Mitchell
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Meanwhile, Conservative MP for New Forest East Sir Julian Lewis said: “There is a danger of creating a pull factor, and if that happens and a much larger number arrives than is expected, will he put a cap on the number that can be transferred to St Helena?
Doughty declined to commit to a cap, saying: “That is exactly why we have concluded the agreement that we have with Mauritius, and this agreement with St Helena.
“Biot is not a suitable place for migrants to be present, there is no permanent population, there is not the suitable facilities, and that’s absolutely why we’re taking the steps to close down that route and ensure that people do not make that dangerous journey.”
He added that the scheme will cost £6.65 million, with additional costs for each migrant.
Conservative MP for New Forest East Sir Julian Lewis
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Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes James MacCleary said: “It has been reported today that there is an investigation under way into a major hack of the British Commission’s phones during the Chagos Island talks, what action is the Government taking to address this potentially major security breach?”
Doughty said the “alleged hacks” were “historic, rather than relating to the recent negotiation period.”