Council forced to house islanders

The islanders have been given temporary hotel accommodation

Dozens of people displaced from an island in the Indian Ocean must be housed after arriving in the UK, the High Court has ruled.

The 45 islanders, from Diego Garcia, arrived at Gatwick Airport on Friday.

West Sussex County Council said it was under no obligation to house them but the High Court has ruled it must.

The Diego Garcians, who have lived in Mauritius since the island became a UK army base in the 1970s, have been given accommodation in a hotel until Tuesday.

Want to return

More than 100 Diego Garcians have arrived in the UK over the past two years, all with UK passports.

They have nearly all settled in the area around Gatwick, in West Sussex.

Many of them want to return to Diego Garcia but cannot get permission from the UK or US governments.

Diego Garcia became a military base in the 1970s

Last month West Sussex County Council said it was expecting 45 to arrive on 8 October and 45 more on 20 October.

But a spokesman added the council had been advised in a letter that 3,000 more were "waiting to come home".

He said the cost to the council of looking after that many until they could claim benefits would be £18m.

When the group of 45 arrived at Gatwick on Friday they said they would stay at the airport until they could find somewhere to live.

'Following recommendations'

The county council said it could only provide support for those who were vulnerable or had children and could not afford to carry on providing for them all, and was not under any duty to do so.

But late on Friday night the High Court ruled the council would have to have to find accommodation for all the immigrants until Tuesday.

They were taken to bed and breakfast accommodation in nearby Horley on Saturday.

The county council said in a statement it would resist any attempts to extend its support without a full court hearing.

It said it was following the government's recommendations not to provide support.

The first group of Diego Garcians to arrive in the UK in 2002 were given help finding homes and jobs but when 30 more arrived in June 2003 the county council refused to help them, only for the High Court to ruled it had to do so.