Exiled Chagos Islanders return without British supervision for first time

Survey ship will gather evidence in dispute over demarcating seabed between Mauritius and Maldives

A Mauritian-chartered survey ship carrying Chagos Islanders exiled from their homeland by the UK government 50 years ago have left Seychelles bound for the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT).

The 1,130-mile voyage marks the first time Chagossians have been allowed to enter the remote archipelago - cleared of its entire population in the early 1970s to make way for a US military base on Diego Garcia - without being under close British military escort.