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Purpose of this site
This site contains information not normally available elsewhere. It has been obtained from a variety of sources, including the National Archives, other researchers, and Freedom of Information requests to UK and US authorities.
For many years, the British Government has been content to allow the Chagos Archipelago and the British Indian Ocean Territory to remain hidden from the public view; - secret deals with the US Government; the appalling treatment of the indigenous Chagossian population, leading to their exile; and the refusal to give redress for past Government actions. This attitude of concealment persists to the present day.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) are required under Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation to pro-actively disseminate 'environmental information' that it holds about the Chagos. By its own admission it is not doing so, despite the fact that it has in its possession much information of potential interest. Its reasoning behind this refusal is explained on the page "Freedom of Information Legislation". In the absence of meeting this obligation, this website in part helps to achieve this, with information which has been obtained under FOI requests. This is a slow an tortuous process, with the FCO dragging their heels and placing obstacles in the way.
If you have information that you think should appear on this site then please send it to the Website Editor. If you think anything is wrong then please also contact him.
Website Editor
Richard Dunne is a Barrister and coral reef scientist.
In 1975 he graduated from Cambridge University (Queens' College) after reading Natural Sciences followed by Law. He then served for 17 years in the Royal Navy before leaving in 1991 to pursue a career in coral reef science.
In 1975 he led the 12 man 'Cambridge Anegada Expedition' to study the coral reefs of the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean, for which he was to receive the Cunningham Initiative Award from the Royal Navy. He was awarded the Gedge Medal, Lyddon Shield, and the Charles Dargaville Ballard Memorial Prize during his naval training.
In 1980 he studied at the Inns of Court School of Law in London and was called to the Bar in 1981 (Middle Temple).
His Royal Naval career involved 8 years in seagoing appointments with the remainder spent in shore appointments. Whilst serving in HMS Arethusa in 1979, his ship called at the island of Diego Garcia in the Chagos en route to New Zealand. Most of his service career was in legal appointments, including appearing in over 100 Courts Martial as Prosecutor, Defence Counsel, and Judge Advocate. In 1991 he was the Legal Advisor to the Commander in Chief Fleet during the first Gulf War. Before leaving the Royal Navy he rewrote the Manual of Naval Law (Courts Martial). He specialised in Criminal Law, the Law of Armed Conflict, International Law of the Sea, and Humanitarian Law.
From 1991 to the present he has worked in the Indian Ocean on the coral reefs of the Maldives and Thailand. He has researched and published on the physiology and photobiology of corals, and their response to environmental parameters including sea temperature, sea level and solar irradiance. He has published over 30 paper in peer reviewed journals. For the last 2 years he has been actively involved in matters, both scientific and legal, in support of Chagossian rights.
He is a qualified BSAC 2nd Class diver and Joint Services Sub-Aqua Diving Supervisor.
e-mail: RichardPDunne@aol.com