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Written question asked by Baroness Whitaker (Labour) on Monday, 6 July 2020, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 20 July 2020. It was answered by Baroness Sugg (Conservative) on Friday, 17 July 2020 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Legal Costs

Question

To ask Her Majesty's Government what has been the total cost to the public purse of defending all legal actions brought against them (1) by, or (2) on behalf of, Chagossians in (a) courts, or (b) tribunals, in England and Wales since 1998; and whether their assessment of these costs includes the staff costs of Foreign and Commonwealth Office personnel working on these cases.

Answer

From the accessible records held by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, the legal costs of defending all actions brought against HMG by or on behalf of Chagossians in domestic courts or tribunals since 1998 to present are £3,971,391.17.

This figure has not been adjusted to take account of costs awarded to HMG.

It is not possible to assess the staff costs of FCO officials working on these cases, as staff time is not recorded in this way.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
HL6543
Session
2019-21
Subjects
British Indian Ocean Territory Legal costs Chagossians
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk