Ministers have been banned from concluding their negotiations on handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
In a major embarrassment for Keir Starmer, a High Court judge granted a temporary injunction at 2.25am this morning.
The ruling was passed down just hours before the prime minister hoped to finalise his deal for Mauritius to take over the archipelago,
In the injunction, which was brought against the Foreign Office, Mr Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to Bertrice Pompe, who had previously taken steps to bring legal action over the deal.
The judge 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.”
He went on: “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.”
Under the proposed deal, the government would pay around £9 billion over the next 99 years so that a joint-UK/US military air base can continue to operate on Diego garcia.
Responding to the ruling, 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.”
