A London High Court judge issued an eleventh-hour injunction, temporarily blocking Britain from finalizing a deal with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands on Thursday. The agreement, aimed at securing the future of the U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base, has been postponed as a result.
Britain was scheduled to sign the multi-billion dollar deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday but was forced to abandon the announcement due to the injunction granted early in the morning.
The deal, initially announced in October, would allow Britain to retain control of the strategically important base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago in the Indian Ocean, under a 99-year lease.
The injunction was granted following action by Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, British nationals born in Diego Garcia, who have criticized the deal for excluding Chagossians from any communication. The case is scheduled to be considered at 1030 local time.
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The wider Chagossian diaspora, many of whom were forcibly removed from the Indian Ocean archipelago over 50 years ago and ended up living in Britain, have expressed their inability to endorse an agreement they were not consulted on.
Critics have also argued that the deal is a capitulation that benefits China, which has close trade ties with Mauritius.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was expected to participate in a virtual signing ceremony with representatives from the Mauritian government, according to the Telegraph newspaper.
The British government has declined to comment on ongoing legal cases but stated that the deal is necessary to protect the British people and the country’s national security.
In 1965, Britain separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, a former colony that gained independence 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 arrangement includes 3 billion pounds to be paid by Britain to Mauritius over the 99-year term, with an option for a 50-year extension and Britain maintaining the right of first refusal thereafter.
The Diego Garcia base is strategically crucial, having been used for operations such as bombing strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen (2024-2025), humanitarian aid deployments to Gaza, and attacks against Taliban and al-Qaeda targets in Afghanistan in 2001.
U.S. President Donald Trump indicated his support for the deal in February after meeting Starmer in Washington, following some uncertainty over his administration’s backing. Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had also supported the agreement.
