Liz Truss Advocated for Immediate Relocation of Stranded Asylum Seekers, Email Reveals

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Former Prime Minister Liz Truss had advocated for the immediate relocation of asylum seekers stranded on a minuscule British territory in the Indian Ocean, voicing her concerns for their safety. While serving as the Foreign Secretary in March 2022, Truss reportedly urged the Prime Minister’s office via email to consider the gravity of the situation and facilitate their safe transfer to the UK.

In an unexpected turn of events, her plea fell on deaf ears. This redacted email, once shrouded in secrecy, was finally revealed to the public by the Supreme Court of the British Indian Ocean Territory, notwithstanding the government’s objections.


In response to inquiries about the email, the Foreign Office steadfastly rejected the notion of the British Indian Ocean Territory (Biot) evolving into an irregular migration route to the UK. They asserted that such a move would only encourage unlawful migration and ultimately, lead to the exploitation of the vulnerable migrants by unscrupulous criminal gangs.

The unfortunate asylum seekers, primarily Sri Lankan Tamils, have been marooned for over two years on Diego Garcia, an isolated island boasting a secretive UK-US military base. They ended up on this remote island after their fishing boat experienced trouble enroute to Canada. The asylum claims lodged by this group were groundbreaking, considering Biot’s unique legal and constitutional distinction from the UK that renders the refugee convention inapplicable.

Life for these asylum seekers, who describe their existence as a living nightmare, is marked by uncertainty due to the island’s peculiar legal status. Many of these individuals claim connections to the erstwhile Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka and assert they’ve been facing relentless persecution in its aftermath, including allegations of torture and sexual misconduct.

The email sent by Truss to the Prime Minister’s office brought her stance on immigration into stark relief. Despite her stated support for the government’s general approach to immigration, she believed that the unprecedented circumstances warranted ‘extraordinary action.’ Accordingly, she felt the need for the asylum seekers to be transported to the UK for due processing.

The email also highlighted the Biot administration’s sworn duty of care to the migrants and expressed concerns about the lack of facilities and limitations for implementing effective remedial measures on the island. Reports of a credible threat of mass suicide further underscored the severity of the crisis on hand.

These desperate migrants stuck on Diego Garcia have expressed the extreme despair felt, with some confessing to have attempted suicide due to the dreadful living conditions. Some even embarked on hunger strikes, with children allegedly involved, to protest their plight.

A lawyer for the group, Tessa Gregory, observed that despite 18 months having lapsed since Truss advocated for the relocation of the asylum seekers to the UK to process their claims, the unfortunate group continues to languish in distressing conditions. She articulated the urgent need for the group, consisting of children and victims of torture and sexual assault, to be promptly relocated to a ‘safe third country,’ like the UK.

When approached by the BBC for a comment on the matter, former PM Truss was not available.