Barack Obama visit offers new hope for displaced Chagos islanders

You might have thought that during his recent visit to the UK, US president Barack Obama was solely concerned with convincing British voters that their country would be far better off remaining in the European Union. However, other issues made it on to the agenda in the discussions between the US president and his UK counterpart, David Cameron.

Indeed, the two men discussed the future of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and the people who used to live there. Obama later met opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, who also raised the resettlement of the exiled islanders. Obama was said to have listened sympathetically.

While there has as yet been no statement on what was said in the meeting between Obama and Cameron, the US president seems unlikely to have made any objections to the return of the Chagos exiles.