Uk's chagos islands deal halted by 2am legal action

THE GOVERNMENT HASN'T COMMENTED 08:36, 22 May 2025 The Government has temporarily been banned from concluding its negotiations on the Chagos Islands deal by an injunction granted in the

early hours by a High Court judge. In the injunction granted at 2.25am on Thursday, 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. "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," Mr Justice Goose said in his order. Sir Keir Starmer had been expected to attend a virtual ceremony alongside representatives from the Mauritian government on

Thursday morning to sign off on the deal. Britain would give up sovereignty of the island territory to Mauritius under the deal, and lease back a crucial military base on the archipelago for

99 years. Mr Justice Goose’s order continued: “The defendant shall in particular not dispose of the territory in whole or in part. “The defendant is to maintain the jurisdiction of the

United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order.” _JOIN THE MANCHESTER EVENING NEWS WHATSAPP GROUP HERE_ According to the order, the judge granted the injunction

“upon consideration of the claimant’s application for interim relief made out of court hours” and “upon reading the defendants’ response”. A hearing is now expected to take place on Thursday

morning at 10.30 am. The Government said the Chagos Islands deal is the “right thing” for the UK after a court injunction temporarily blocked the agreement from being concluded. 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.” --- _For the latest stories

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