The UK’s plan to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has been blocked by a High Court injunction, just hours before the agreement was set to be signed. The injunction was granted after two British nationals, Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who were born at the Diego Garcia military base, claimed the islands should remain under British control.
They argued that the UK government’s attempt to “give away” the islands without formal consultation with its residents is a continuation of their terrible treatment by the authorities in the past.
The UK government had announced a draft agreement to hand the islands to Mauritius, allowing Britain and the US to continue using the Diego Garcia base under a 99-year lease. The agreement’s finalization was delayed due to changes in the Mauritian government and last-minute negotiations over costs. The UK would lease back the base for 99 years at a cost of approximately Ksh15.6B a year.
The Chagos Islands have been a point of contention since the UK separated them from Mauritius in 1965 to create the British Indian Ocean Territory. The UK government evicted around 1,500 residents in the early 1970s to make way for the Diego Garcia airbase. Mauritius has contested Britain’s claim to the archipelago, and the United Nations has urged Britain to return the Chagos to Mauritius.
A hearing will take place to further discuss the matter. The UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, had intended to attend a ceremony with the Mauritian government to sign off on the deal before the injunction was granted. The Shadow Foreign Secretary, Priti Patel, criticized the move, saying, “Today’s intervention is a humiliation for Keir Starmer and David Lammy”.