High court judge blocks UK from concluding Chagos Islands deal

A high court judge has blocked the UK government from concluding its deal to hand over the Chagos Islands with an injunction granted in the early hours of Thursday. The agreement to hand sovereignty over the Chagos islands to Mauritius was due to be given the green light by ministers on Thursday. Downing Street lifted its objection to announcing the deal over the prospect of a political backlash, according to reports, with the prime minister due to attend a virtual event with the Mauritian government. But in the injunction granted at 2.25am on Thursday, brought against the Foreign Office, Mr…