Leading article: Insult and grave injustice

Once again the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands have been vindicated in court. The Court of Appeal ruled yesterday that the British Government should not have prevented the islanders from returning to their homes in the Indian Ocean from which they were evicted three decades ago.

The expulsion of the Chagos islanders between 1967 and 1973 was an outstandingly shameful episode in postwar British history. Looking back, it is quite astonishing to imagine what happened. When Britain leased Diego Garcia - one of the group of islands - to the United States, it was decided that the entire population of the Chagos archipelago, some 2,000 people, ought to be relocated to islands off Africa's east coast. Some were sent to the Seychelles. But most were shipped to run-down areas of Mauritius.

This was more than a minor act of post- colonial arrogance by Britain. It was reminiscent of one of Stalin's deportations of native peoples. The islanders - British subjects lest we forget - were given no help to find jobs. They received no resettlement support. And for many years they were denied compensation. Most were plunged into poverty. Many have turned to alcohol or even suicide.

To add insult to grave injustice, this is the third time the UK courts have ruled in favour of the islanders being allowed to return home. After their initial victory seven years ago, the former foreign secretary Robin Cook accepted the verdict. But then the Foreign Office reversed its position. In 2004, it came up with an Order in Council, a little-used executive power, to overturn the court's verdict. This is what was ruled illegal yesterday by Lord Justice Stephen Sedley.

The Chagos islanders have been inadvertent victims of two global struggles. In the 1960s, when the Cold War was at its height, there was a secret deal between the US and UK to turn Diego Garcia into a US military base. And it emerged last year that the American government opposed the resettlement of the islands more recently on security grounds, claiming that Diego Garcia is a vital military installation involved in the "war on terror". US and British officials portray both conflicts as part of a broader struggle for human rights. But it is quite clear that they have shamefully disregarded the human rights of the Chagos islanders for 30 years.

The Court of Appeal yesterday refused to grant the Government an immediate right of appeal. But the Foreign Office is considering a petition to the House of Lords directly to review the case. That would be an outrage. Let this ruling be the end of the matter. And let the Chagos islanders - finally - return home.

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