Diego Garcia

HC Deb 15 March 1984 vol 56 cc244-5W

Mr. Wareing

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the present location of the former inhabitants of Diego Garcia.

Mr. Rifkind

A fluctuating number of contract workers were recruited in Mauritius and Seychelles to work on the copra plantations of the Chagos archipelago, including Diego Garcia. Following the closure of these plantations, the workers and their families were all resettled in either Seychelles or Mauritius.

Mr. Wareing

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what financial return has accrued to the United Kingdom from the use by the United States of America of Diego Garcia as a military base.

Mr. Rifkind

In accordance with article (4) of the 1966 exchange of notes concerning the availability for defence purposes of the British Indian Ocean Territory—Cmnd. 3231 — no charge is made to the United States Government for the use of sites on Diego Garcia. There has therefore been no accrued financial return to the United Kingdom from the use by the United States of America of Diego Garcia as a naval support facility.