By Muvija M
LONDON (Reuters) -Britain was temporarily blocked from concluding a deal on the Chagos Islands with Mauritius on Thursday after an eleventh-hour injunction by a London High Court judge, postponing an agreement aimed at securing the future of the U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base.
Britain had been set to sign the multi-billion dollar deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday, but in the early hours of the morning an injunction was granted by the High Court, forcing the government to abandon the announcement.
The deal, the details of which were first announced in October, would allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important base on Diego Garcia, the largest island of the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease.
The last-minute injunction was granted following action by Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, both British nationals who were born in Diego Garcia. They have criticised the deal for excluding Chagossians in any communication.
The case is due to be considered at 1030 local time, according to the court order.
The wider Chagossian diaspora, many of whom ended up living in Britain after being forcibly removed from the Indian Ocean archipelago more than 50 years ago, have said they cannot endorse an agreement they were not consulted on.
Critics have also said the deal is a capitulation that plays into the hands of China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was due to join a virtual signing ceremony with representatives from the Mauritian government, the Telegraph newspaper reported earlier.
The British government said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but said the deal was the right thing to protect the British people and the country’s national security.
In 1965 Britain detached the Chagos Islands from Mauritius – a former colony that became independent three years later – to create the British Indian Ocean Territory.
Under the planned 99-year agreement, Britain will pay Mauritius 3 billion pounds ($4 billion) to secure the future of Diego Garcia, U.S. State Department officials said before the injunction was granted.
The financial component includes 3 billion pounds to be paid by Britain to Mauritius over the 99-year term of the agreement, with an option for a 50-year extension and Britain maintaining the right of first refusal thereafter.
The base’s capabilities are extensive and strategically crucial. Recent operations launched from Diego Garcia include bombing strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen (2024-2025), humanitarian aid deployments to Gaza, and further back, attacks against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan in 2001.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who took office in November, indicated his backing for the deal in February after meeting Starmer in Washington, following some uncertainty over his administration’s support. Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden had backed the agreement.
(Reporting by Muvija M in London and Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by William Schomberg, Elizabeth Piper and Hugh Lawson)
