A close friend of Sir Keir Starmer raked in a share of £8million to support Mauritius’s case against Britain over the Chagos Islands.
Philippe Sands KC earned the cash while serving as chief legal counsel to Mauritius between 2010 and 2024.
Professor Sands, considered a leading international human rights lawyer, led a series of legal teams to secure a deal to cede the archipelago to Mauritius.
The team was allocated at least £8,300,000 from the Mauritian state budget, the Mail revealed on Tuesday.
It is unclear how much of the share Prof Sands took in himself – though it is expected he took the largest cut as the chief counsel, one top lawyer said.
Prof Sands told a House of Lords Committee he “did not know” how much he was paid – but admitted he was “remunerated, as I am for almost all my cases. It was not done pro bono.”
Graham Stringer, who has called for a backbench rebellion against the agreement, blasted him for “making a fortune representing the interests of a foreign country”.
He added: “The sooner we take control back for the people of this country, and not for foreign courts with lawyers making millions, the better.”
“Sands pretends to care about rights but in actual fact he is trying to regress the Chagossians who don’t want Mauritian control,” Mr Stringer added.
Professor Philippe Sands KC represented Mauritius during the negotiations between the UK over the Chagos Islands
While Robert Jenrick, writing for GB News last February, said the “deep connections” between Prof Sands, the PM and Attorney General Lord Hermer were “deeply troubling”.
Jean-Francois Nellan, a campaigner for Chagossian Voices, said following the deal’s announcement: “Why are they rushing this? Is it because the Prime Minister is friends with Philippe Sands?”
The group’s Vanessa Calou went on to tell Britain’s News Channel she was worried her homeland would be “surrendered” to China “in a way that gives it to Mauritius”, a close ally to Beijing.
Prof Sands’s team included others familiar with the now-Prime Minister.
His top lawyers campaigned for the “decolonisation” of the islands – even though they never belonged to Mauritius.
LATEST ON THE CHAGOS ISLANDS:
Professor Philippe Sands KC was granted Mauritian citizenship as a result of his work on the deal
|
GETTY
Chagos Islands: key facts | GB NEWS
One, Alison Macdonald, worked with Sir Keir to represent activists who broke into Royal Air Force bases to protest the Iraq War in 2006.
Lawyers have long pointed to the “cab rank principle” – taking the first case they are given – to defend against criticism of their controversial clients.
Another, Elizabeth Wilmhurst, came to know the future Labour leader through work in international law and a shared speech at Chatham House in 2013.
The team of lawyers were paid varying amounts by the Mauritian Government, with a fee of over £1.3million from 2022 to 2023.
They earned a fixed fee of £2million for work between 2010 and 2015.
Prof Sands was also pictured hoisting a Mauritian flag above the Chagos Islands in 2022.
Professor Philippe Sands KC is a close personal friend of the Prime Minister
|
DOWNING STREET
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 for his work representing the country.
Reform UK’s Chris Parry previously told GB News that almost all the cases Prof Sands has taken “have all been about trying to limit Britain’s power in the world and to essentially erode our instruments of power”.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel said: “Keir Starmer’s ‘great friend’ Philippe Sands is key to the Chagos Surrender that is undermining our national interest and our security.
“Like Starmer, Peter Mandelson, Jonathan Powell and everyone else associated with the Chagos scandal, I believe that Sands is happy to sell out our country.
“The Conservatives will continue to fight the Chagos surrender every step of the way.
“Labour and their lefty lawyer friends cannot be trusted to stand up for Britain on the international stage. Only the Conservatives will defend our country’s interests.”