UK banned from concluding Chagos Islands deal by last-minute court injunction

The Government has temporarily been banned from concluding its negotiations on the Chagos Islands deal by an injunction granted in the early hours of Thursday by a High Court judge.

In the injunction, which was brought against the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Mr Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to Bertrice Pompe, who had previously taken steps to bring legal action over the deal.

Speaking in his order, the judge said: “The defendant shall take no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government or bind itself as to the particular terms of any such transfer.”

Downing Street insisted the deal is the “right thing” but would not comment on the legal case.

A hearing is expected to take place at 10.30am.

The Chagos Islands consist of more than 60 individual islands, around 500km south of the Maldives. / Credit: PA

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was expected to complete sign off on a deal on Thursday, which would have seen the British-controlled Chagos Islands handed over to Mauritius.

The government had argued that it had to give up sovereignty over the islands, also known as the British Indian Ocean Territory, due to international legal rulings in favour of Mauritius.

The Prime Minister was expected to attend a virtual ceremony on Thursday morning with representatives of the Mauritian government to complete signing off on the deal.

A Government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on ongoing legal cases.

“This deal is the right thing to protect the British people and our national security.”

The deal has been criticised by some political figures, with the Conservatives, Reform’s Nigel Farage and at one point US President Donald Trump all voicing opposition.

The latter signalled a change in tone and some support for the deal when Starmer visited the White House in February earlier this year.

Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, is home to a joint UK-US military base, used to project Western influence in the Indian Ocean.

Critics of proposals to hand over the islands to Mauritius fear the move will benefit China, which has a growing reach in the region.

It had been reported that the terms of the deal were likely to include a lengthy extension to the lease of this military base.

The Conservatives began negotiations with Mauritius when they were in power, but have been critical of Labour’s handling of the deal.

Speaking in the House of Commons just this week, Defence Secretary John Healey insisted the base on Diego Garcia was “essential to our security”, and the UK’s security relationship with the US.

“We’ve had to act, as the previous government started to do, to deal with that jeopardy, we’re completing those arrangements and we’ll report to the House when we can,” he added.