A close friend of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was paid millions of pounds by a foreign state while leading its legal battle against the United Kingdom over the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, it has been revealed.
Professor Philippe Sands KC, an internationally renowned human rights barrister, served as chief legal counsel to Mauritius from 2010 until 2024. During that period, he and the legal teams he led were allocated at least £8.3 million from the Mauritian state budget, according to a report by the Daily Mail. While his exact personal share is unclear, it is expected he took the largest portion as the lead counsel.
Professor Sands confirmed to a House of Lords committee that he was remunerated for the work, stating it was “not done pro bono,” though he said he “did not know” the precise sum.
The Dispute and the Deal
The payments were made as Professor Sands spearheaded Mauritius’s ultimately successful campaign to secure the Chagos Archipelago, a strategic territory in the Indian Ocean. The dispute has its roots in 1965, when the UK detached the islands from Mauritius—then a British colony—to create the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT). Between 1967 and 1973, the entire indigenous Chagossian population was forcibly removed to make way for a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, an act described by Human Rights Watch as a “crime against humanity.”
In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion that the UK’s separation of the islands was unlawful and that continued administration violated international law. The court said Britain had an obligation to end its control “as rapidly as possible,” a ruling later endorsed by the UN General Assembly.
In May 2025, the UK and Mauritius signed a treaty finalising the transfer of sovereignty. The agreement, initiated under the Conservatives and finalised under Prime Minister Starmer, includes a key provision for the UK to lease back the Diego Garcia military base for at least 99 years. The US has welcomed the deal for securing the facility’s long-term future. The UK will pay Mauritius approximately £101 million annually for the lease, totalling around £3.4 billion over the full term when adjusted for inflation.
Friendships, Fees and a Flag
The involvement of Professor Sands, described as a “close personal friend” of the Prime Minister, has drawn intense political criticism. Labour MP Graham Stringer blasted him for “making a fortune representing the interests of a foreign country” and accused him of pretending to care about rights while working against the interests of Chagossians who oppose Mauritian control.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick has previously raised concerns about the “deep connections” between Prof Sands, the Prime Minister, and the Attorney General Lord Hermer, calling them “deeply troubling.”
Professor Sands’s legal team included other figures familiar with Sir Keir. One, Alison Macdonald, worked with the then-human rights lawyer in 2006 to represent activists who broke into RAF bases to protest the Iraq War. Another, Elizabeth Wilmhurst, came to know the future Labour leader through shared work in international law.
The lawyers were paid varying amounts, including a fixed fee of £2 million for work between 2010 and 2015, and over £1.3 million from 2022 to 2023. Professor Sands was also pictured hoisting the Mauritian flag above the Chagos Islands in 2022. For his work, he was granted Mauritian citizenship and received the country’s highest civilian award, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean.
Criticism and Concern
The agreement has faced fierce opposition from some Conservative MPs and campaigners. Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel has labelled it the “Chagos Surrender,” stating that “Labour and their lefty lawyer friends cannot be trusted to stand up for Britain on the international stage.” Reform UK’s Chris Parry previously told GB News that Professor Sands’s cases often seemed aimed at limiting Britain’s power.
Chagossian campaigners have expressed profound anxiety about the deal. Vanessa Calou of the group Chagossian Voices told GB News she feared her homeland would be “surrendered” to China “in a way that gives it to Mauritius,” a close ally of Beijing. Many Chagossians in the UK fear losing their British citizenship and argue the deal prevents their return to Diego Garcia and fails to provide full reparations. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination has expressed concern the agreement may perpetuate violations of their rights.
Last-minute legal injunctions were filed by Chagossian women seeking to halt the treaty’s signing, arguing it jeopardised their limited visitation rights, though these were ultimately lifted. The newly elected Mauritian government had initially rejected a draft deal before negotiations restarted.
Former US President Donald Trump has also publicly criticised the agreement, calling it an “act of great stupidity” and an “act of total weakness.” The UK government has maintained the deal was necessary due to court rulings that threatened the operation of the Diego Garcia base, though some critics have argued these legal concerns were “overblown.”
