Chagossians appeal to Gordon Brown

PORT LOUIS (Reuters) - Expelled by the British government from their Indian Ocean homes almost 40 years ago, Chagos islanders asked incoming prime minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday not to hinder their return.

The government on Monday asked the Lords for permission to appeal against last month's High Court judgement saying the Chagossians should be allowed to return.

Britain ejected some 2,000 islanders during the Cold War to make way for a U.S. military base and has argued, on security grounds, that they should not be allowed back.

But Olivier Bancoult, chairman of the Chagos Refugees Group, told Reuters he was hoping for a change of heart from the British government under Brown who formally takes over as prime minister from Tony Blair on Wednesday.

"I ask him not to go ahead with the appeal and not to waste taxpayers' money," said Olivier Bancoult, who has driven the Chagossian campaign to return.

"Since we have had three judgements in our favour, I think it is time to put an end to all the wrongs that the Chagossians have suffered," he said, referring to past rulings in their favour that became bogged down in appeals and legal manoeuvres.

Bancoult, who is based in Mauritius where many Chagossians were sent, said he tried without success to contact Brown last month and was still hoping to meet him.