Court halts conclusion of Chagos Islands deal with injunction
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'.
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 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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Statesman
23 minutes ago
- New Statesman
The age of unpopularity
Illustration by Dom McKenzie / Ikon Images Last September, just two months after Labour's election, Keir Starmer declared that his government was 'going to have to be unpopular'. That has proved to be one of the Prime Minister's safer predictions. Earlier this week Labour achieved another unwelcome milestone: its net approval rating fell to -56, matching the level recorded by the Conservatives just before the 2024 election. Some will conclude from this that the government can simply do no right in the eyes of a disillusioned electorate. But this isn't quite true. Polling by More in Common shows that policies such as the Ukraine negotiations, the minimum wage increase, the Renters' Rights Bill and the sewage bill are both popular and salient. For the public, however, these are far eclipsed by failures such as the winter fuel payment cuts, an excessively gloomy narrative and a lack of clear purpose. Yet it isn't only Labour's descent into unpopularity that is striking – British politics is defined by it. Not one of the current party leaders enjoys a positive approval rating according to YouGov. Nigel Farage, the man cast as an electoral pied piper, is almost as unpopular as the becalmed Kemi Badenoch. Jeremy Corbyn, the insurgent eyeing a second coming, is still more unpopular than both. Ed Davey emerges as the most popular leader but he is flattered by his greater obscurity: 38 per cent of voters don't have an opinion on him. Though Reform now comfortably leads among every pollster, this is some way short of a truly popular revolt. Back in 1981, the SDP-Liberal Alliance, invoked again in recent months, once achieved a rating of 50.5 per cent; Reform is currently averaging 29 per cent. What we are witnessing, in short, is a war of the weak. Labour is an unpopular incumbent and the Tories an unforgiven opposition. Farage and Corbyn are daring but divisive (both, with telling symmetry, are disliked by 61 per cent of the electorate). Who wins in this strange new universe? Pollsters and commentators have traditionally defined British elections as a battle for the 'centre ground'. Swing voters – who would oscillate between the Conservatives and Labour – were prized above all. But this conventional fight, some in Westminster argue, has now been supplanted by another. A private polling presentation by Stack Data Strategy – co-founded by Ameet Gill, a former strategist to David Cameron – instead frames British politics as a struggle between left and right coalitions. In an era when the winning post is closer to 30 per cent than 40 per cent, the side which triumphs will be that which best preserves its base. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe The risk for Labour is that while the right-wing vote consolidates around Reform, the left-wing vote fragments. Since the general election, Farage has won over almost a third of 2024 Tories (29 per cent). Labour, meanwhile, has shed votes to the Lib Dems (13 per cent) and the Greens (9 per cent). A new left party, already polling as high as 15 per cent in some surveys, threatens only to maximise this disunity. How does Labour prevent this trend giving Farage an electoral shortcut to No 10? It's a question Starmer will soon need to show his party he has an answer to. This piece first appeared in the Morning Call newsletter; receive it every morning by subscribing on Substack here [See also: What the Bell Hotel closure reveals about the asylum housing stalemate] Related
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Palestinians flee Gaza City as Israel begins offensive to take over the Strip's capital
Israel announced on Wednesday it had begun its offensive in Gaza, which could displace 1 million Palestinians. The newly approved plan authorises the call-up of roughly 60,000 reservists, deepening fears the campaign will worsen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Russia upends Trump peace efforts with ‘foreign intervention' veto demand
Moscow threw Donald Trump's Ukraine peace initiative into disarray on Thursday, insisting it must have a veto over any postwar support for the country as its forces carried out a large-scale overnight missile barrage. In a series of hardline remarks, Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said European proposals to deploy troops in Ukraine after a settlement would amount to 'foreign intervention', which he called absolutely unacceptable for Russia. Lavrov said Russia wanted to return to discussing a framework first proposed during the initial peace talks held in Istanbul in 2022, under which Moscow and Beijing would help guarantee Ukraine's security alongside European allies – terms Kyiv considers unacceptable. 'We support the principles and security guarantees that were agreed … in April 2022,' Lavrov said. 'Anything else … is of course an absolutely futile undertaking,' the foreign minister added. European leaders are exploring possible security guarantees for Ukraine after the war, building on Trump's promise to back the country under any settlement with Russia. France, Britain and Estonia have indicated they could send troops to a postwar Ukraine, while several other nations said they might take part, though much depends on US involvement. Lavrov's comments cast doubt on the prospects for peace talks. After the recent Trump-Putin summit in Alaska, US officials said the Russian president had accepted the prospect of western security guarantees for Ukraine. But the latest statements suggest Moscow may be backing away from that understanding – or that Washington may have misinterpreted the Kremlin's position from the outset. Trump on Thursday appeared to vent his frustration at Russia's obstruction. In a post on Truth Social, the US president blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for not allowing Ukraine to 'fight back' against Russia. 'It is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invaders country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense, but is not allowed to play offense. There is no chance of winning! It is like that with Ukraine and Russia. Crooked and grossly incompetent Joe Biden would not let Ukraine FIGHT BACK, only DEFEND. How did that work out? … Interesting times ahead!!!' Trump wrote. Trump's veiled threats against Russia will be welcomed in Kyiv and European capitals, though the US leader has previously backed away from imposing sanctions or boosting support for Ukraine. Lavrov also poured cold water on the prospect of a summit between the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which has been touted by Trump. Lavrov said a bilateral meeting at the highest level would only be possible 'if all issues requiring discussion are thoroughly prepared'. He suggested that Putin would only meet Zelenskyy to accept Russia's maximalist conditions, which would entail Ukraine's capitulation. Russia's veteran foreign minister further questioned whether Zelenskyy had the legitimacy to sign any future peace accord, parroting a familiar Kremlin line that portrays Ukraine's leadership as illegitimate. Despite a flurry of diplomacy in recent days between Trump and his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, the path to peace remains uncertain as Moscow has shown little willingness to climb down from its maximalist demands. Even so, the White House on Wednesday continued to strike a positive tone. 'President Trump and his national security team continue to engage with Russian and Ukrainian officials towards a bilateral meeting to stop the killing and end the war,' a White House spokesperson told Fox News. Speaking to foreign correspondents in Kyiv, Zelenskyy, who has agreed to meet Putin, said he would like a 'strong reaction' from Washington if the Russian leader was not willing to sit down for a bilateral meeting with him soon. 'I responded immediately to the proposal for a bilateral meeting: we are ready. But what if the Russians are not ready?' Zelenskyy said in comments released on Thursday from a briefing with reporters in Kyiv a day earlier. As uncertainty over peace talks persisted, Russia launched one of its heaviest bombardments in weeks. The Ukrainian military said Moscow fired 574 drones and 40 missiles in a major aerial assault that struck western regions, killing at least one person and injuring 15. Ukraine's foreign minister said a major US electronics manufacturer was among the targets. 'The message is clear: Russia is not looking for peace. Russia is attacking American business in Ukraine, humiliating American business,' Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, said. Ukraine, for its part, has stepped up drone attacks on Russian infrastructure supporting the war, with strikes on oil refineries pushing wholesale gasoline prices in Russia to record highs.
