Court halts conclusion of Chagos Islands deal with injunction
The UK 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.
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.
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.
It requires the Government to “maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order”.
Deal
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”.
Prime Minister 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.
A UK 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.”
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This is absolute folly. The UK has as much right to the Chagos Islands as Mauritius which is about 1000 miles away. No one has asked the Chagossians. A form of independence with security provided by the US would be better.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chagossians “Most Chagossians now live in Mauritius, Seychelles, and the United Kingdom after being forcibly removed by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s so that Diego Garcia, the island where most Chagossians lived, could serve as the location for a United States military base. Today, no Chagossians are allowed to live on the island of Diego Garcia or anywhere in the Chagos archipelago” https://www.icj-cij.org/case/169 “Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 – The Court finds that the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded… Read more »
Call me a cynic. But this court action stinks. It’s likely the result of America in its trade deal including a caveat stipulating that if you (Britain) want our business must retain control of the Chagos Islands as a British overseas territory in turn gifting us (America) control through the back door because of the threat of China to our interests. It’s basically Keir Starmer reneging on a decision made, but this time blaming the high court ruling for his u-turn effectively gifting control the islands to America not Mauritius , but more importantly, the Chagos people themselves, who do… Read more »
Well the other thing you could do is just read why the court injunction was given!
Or are you seriously suggesting the judicial system is colluding with the UK and/or US governments, or in this case, deliberately frustrating them?!