§ Lord Jenkins of Putneyasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is now the condition of the Ilois who were ejected from their island home of Diego Garcia many years ago.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces (Lord Trefgarne)The £4 millionex-gratia payment to the Mauritius Government on 28th October 1982 for the Ilois Trust Fund was made with the express purpose of assisting with the resettlement of the Ilois in Mauritius as self-sufficient members of the community. We believe that this payment represents a generous, full and final settlement of Ilois claims, adequate to achieve its stated purpose. It was warmly welcomed as such by the Government of Mauritius and the Ilois community in Mauritius were fully associated with it. The Mauritius Government have said that their concern is to rehouse the Ilois community and to integrate them into Mauritian society. We believe the compensation we have paid will help to bring this about. We understand that the Ilois Trust Fund, which is responsible for disbursing this compensation, has made considerable progress in doing so.