That this House recognises that Chagos Islanders were disgracefully treated by successive British governments, by their forced removal from Diego Garcia and the Archipelago and their impoverished life in Mauritius and the Seychelles; further notes that the indefatigable spirit of the Chagossians enabled them to win their Right to Return by a High Court decision in 2000; further notes that the late Robin Cook as Foreign Secretary accepted this decision in its entirety; deplores the Government’s use of Orders in Council nearly four years later to overturn the High Court judgment and the failure to consult Parliament on the matter; further notes that the Chagossians have won successive legal judgments in the British courts and notes that by a majority verdict the House of Lords endorsed the Foreign Secretary’s appeal, upholding the Orders in Council; nevertheless believes an historic injustice has been done, and that the Foreign Office should now open serious discussions with the Islanders on their mode of return and to provide sufficient funding from UK and European sources to enable justice.

That this House notes with concern that the current financial crisis is likely to have a disproportionate impact on the most needy in the community who have huge outstanding loans on houses that may subsequently be repossessed; calls on the Government to provide sufficient resources and powers to local authorities to prevent such homelessness brought about through the repossession of such properties, thereby enabling those families to become local authority tenants; notes the large number of unsold private sector developments in many boroughs; and further calls on the Government to enable local authorities to purchase these and thus ensure that people living in desperately overcrowded or hostel accommodation are properly housed.