Tamil refugees seeking asylum from the British-claimed Chagos Islands face being forcibly removed to a third country under Rwanda-style plans drawn up by the UK government.
Government lawyers have told the asylum seekers that if they cannot be returned to Sri Lanka they will instead be removed to another undisclosed country.
Foreign Office insiders say ministers are examining possible deals with “third countries” ready to accept the refugees, with Rwanda being a possible destination.
A first boat of Tamil refugees, including alleged torture victims, arrived just over a year ago on Diego Garcia, part of the Chagos Islands, which the UK calls the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and continues to claim sovereignty over, despite a UN court ruling.
The disclosures have worried campaigners for Tamil refugees.
Zehrah Hasan, an advocacy director for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants, said: “The British government has denied Tamil refugees basic rights in the Chagos Islands for over a year now. In a callous move, it looks like they may expel these same refugees to a third country, similar to the Rwanda plan.
“Those who’ve fled persecution must have their voices heard and their right to protection in the UK recognised.”
The Foreign Office’s plan emerged in a letter sent last week by the government legal department to lawyers representing Tamil asylum seekers. It said that an amendment to the British Indian Ocean Territory (Immigration) Order 2004 allowed the BIOT commissioner to remove migrants to a third country.
“If the commissioner decides that one or more of the migrants cannot be safely returned to Sri Lanka, UK government policy is that those persons will not be taken to the UK, they will be taken to a safe third country instead,” the letter said.
A note attached to the amendment says it “removes the requirement for an individual to consent to their removal to a place other than the place from which they came or their country of nationality”.
A Foreign Office source said the government was examining options for a bespoke third country scheme for BIOT countries, but did not rule out Rwanda as an option. They declined to say whether the government had held any specific talks with third countries about a possible scheme.
While the UK is a party to the 1951 refugee convention, which guarantees that those entering British borders are able to apply for asylum, Diego Garcia is one of a few places under British sovereignty where the convention does not apply.
There are believed to be about 120 Tamil people, including 20 children, on the island who are being housed in a fenced encampment within the joint US-UK military base.
Their lawyers say they include victims of torture, who have previously complained of being prevented from contacting their families and legal representatives.
Sri Lanka is experiencing economic collapse and political unrest, which culminated in the ousting of the Rajapaksa government in May. Many of the asylum seekers on Diego Garcia say they are fleeing the persecution they face as part of Sri Lanka’s minority Tamil ethnic group.
Diego Garcia, a 10 sq mile atoll just south of the equator, is part of the BIOT, a UK colonial holding situated halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The island’s native Chagossian inhabitants were forcibly removed in the 1960s and 70s to make way for the joint British-American military base.
In April, the then UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, announced a plan to send hundreds of asylum seekers to Rwanda to have their claims processed outside the UK. No one has been removed to the east African country because of protracted legal challenges.
In May, the UK Home Office lost a legal case against Tamil refugees, with a British tribunal finding that Tamil people who engaged in a range of political activities in the UK may continue to face “a real risk of ill-treatment or harm” if deported to Sri Lanka.
Liz Truss, the new prime minister, supports the Rwanda plan and has promised to continue the hardline approach to migration and asylum.
A UK government spokesperson defended the scheme to remove asylum seekers in Diego Garcia to a third country.
“The British Indian Ocean Territory is not a suitable long-term place of residence for migrants. This change in the law will mean that those illegally present on the territory can be moved to a safe country other than that of their origin or nationality. We will continue to prioritise the welfare and safety of migrants on the territory,” they said.
