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UK to conclude Chagos Islands deal after court lifts last-minute injunction UK to conclude Chagos Islands deal after court lifts last-minute injunction
(about 2 hours later)
Government due to give green light to deal handing sovereignty of islands to MauritiusGovernment due to give green light to deal handing sovereignty of islands to Mauritius
The UK government is due to conclude its deal to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands after an eleventh-hour high court injunction was lifted. The UK has signed a £3.4bn agreement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after an 11th-hour legal challenge failed.
Ministers are preparing to finalise the agreement to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after they were blocked from doing so for several hours by a court ruling in the early hours of Thursday. Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday afternoon he had signed the deal and that it was “one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States”.
A government spokesperson welcomed the decision to discharge the injunction and said the handover was “vital to protect the British people and our national security”. Under the agreement, Britain cedes control over the islands to Mauritius but leases the largest one, Diego Garcia, for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there.
Under the deal, Britain will cede control over the islands to Mauritius but lease Diego Garcia for 99 years to continue operating a joint US-UK military base there. Ministers have argued that the agreement provides the legal certainty for the continued operation of the base. The cost of leasing Diego Garcia, revealed for the first time on Thursday, is £101m a year. The Ministry of Defence said the net value of the cumulative payments would be £3.4bn.
John Healey, the defence secretary, is expected to make a statement in the Commons about the future of the base on Thursday afternoon. Starmer said there was “no alternative” to this agreement and defended its cost, saying it was “part and parcel of using Britain’s reach to keep us safe at home”. He said it was less than the cost of running one aircraft barrier for a year.
Keir Starmer had been due to attend a virtual event with the Mauritian government when a high court judge granted an injunction brought against the Foreign Office at 2.25am on Thursday. Downing Street said the deal was a “legal necessity” and backed by the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which are part of an intelligence-sharing partnership with the UK.
Mr Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to Bertrice Pompe, a British woman who was born on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the Chagos archipelago, who had previously taken legal action against the agreement. John Healey, the defence secretary, said the agreement “secures full operational control” of the Diego Garcia base and “keeps British people safe at home for the next 99 years and beyond”. Healey is expected to make a statement in the Commons on Thursday afternoon.
Goose said in his order: “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.” Plans to finalise the agreement were almost scuppered by a legal challenge in the early hours of Thursday. The prime minister had been due to attend a virtual event with the Mauritian government when a high court judge granted an injunction brought against the Foreign Office by a British Chagossian at 2.25am on Thursday.
Discharging the injunction at the high court a few hours later, Mr Justice Chamberlain said: “The public interest and the interests of the United Kingdom would be substantially prejudiced by the grant or continuance of interim relief, and these matters provide a strong public interest reason against the continuance of interim relief.” Overnight Mr Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to Bertrice Pompe, who was born on Diego Garcia and had previously taken legal action against the agreement.
Misley Mandarin, a Chagossian who runs the BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territory) Citizens group, said he was “very disappointed” the ruling had paved the way for the deal to be signed. But a few hours later Mr Justice Chamberlain discharged the injunction, ruling that “the public interest and the interests of the United Kingdom would be substantially prejudiced by the grant or continuance of interim relief”.
Speaking to Sky News outside the court, he added: “The fight continues. We’ve been fighting more than 50 years … we will not, never, never let our island, a British Island, go to Mauritius.” The court was told by Harriet Mathews, the FCDO’s director general for Africa, the Americas and Overseas Territories, that the delay had “caused harm to the UK’s reputation”.
In a witness statement, Matthews said that “reneging on the agreed signature timeline threatens hard-won defence and security conditions that are core to the operational effectiveness of the base.”
Speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Pompe said it was “a very, very sad day, but we take courage with the people we have behind us”.
She said: “We have rights. We are British citizens, yet our right doesn’t count. We don’t want to give our rights to Mauritius, we are not Mauritians.”
The Chagossian community does not speak with one voice on the future of the islands, and some have expressed support for the deal to hand sovereignty over them to Maurutius.
No 10 said last month that Donald Trump had signed off the deal after a meeting with Keir Starmer in the White House in February where the US president said he had “a feeling it’s going to work out very well”.No 10 said last month that Donald Trump had signed off the deal after a meeting with Keir Starmer in the White House in February where the US president said he had “a feeling it’s going to work out very well”.
Ministers have refused to disclose the cost of leasing Diego Garcia but it has been reported to be about £90m a year. Some inside government and the Labour party had attacked the agreement by asking why the UK was spending billions on it amid cost pressures. Some inside government and the Labour party had attacked the agreement by asking why the UK was spending billions on it amid cost pressures.
Downing Street is said to have been concerned about a “toxic” backlash were the deal to be announced amid widespread consternation over cuts to winter fuel payments and disability benefits.Downing Street is said to have been concerned about a “toxic” backlash were the deal to be announced amid widespread consternation over cuts to winter fuel payments and disability benefits.
MPs and campaigners have said those cuts contributed to Labour’s heavy losses in the local elections in England this month.MPs and campaigners have said those cuts contributed to Labour’s heavy losses in the local elections in England this month.
The news of the government’s intention to green-light the deal came a day after Starmer announced a U-turn on the winter fuel allowance. He told the Commons on Wednesday that he wanted to “ensure that as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments”. The Guardian revealed earlier this month that Downing Street was rethinking the policy.The news of the government’s intention to green-light the deal came a day after Starmer announced a U-turn on the winter fuel allowance. He told the Commons on Wednesday that he wanted to “ensure that as we go forward, more pensioners are eligible for winter fuel payments”. The Guardian revealed earlier this month that Downing Street was rethinking the policy.
Before February, there had been concerns in government that Trump would block the Chagos Islands agreement, after a backlash from the Conservatives and senior US Republicans. Before February, there had been concerns in government that Trump would block the Chagos Islands agreement after a backlash from the Conservatives and senior US Republicans.
Senior figures in the Trump administration including Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, had criticised the proposals because of Mauritius’s relationship with China. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, said Thursday’s developments were an example of “Labour chaos” and that ministers should not be “paying to surrender British territory to Mauritius”. The government has pointed out that the Conservatives held 11 of the 13 rounds of negotiations that have resulted in the deal.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, repeatedly claimed that Trump would reject the proposal once he turned his attention to it, but this did not materialise. Senior figures in the Trump administration including Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, had criticised the proposals last year because of Mauritius’s relationship with China. Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, repeatedly claimed that Trump would reject the proposal once he turned his attention to it, but this did not materialise.