May 22 (UPI) -- A signing ceremony ceding the British Indian Ocean Territory of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius on Thursday was called off at the last moment after Britain's High Court granted an injunction in the middle of the night to islanders opposing the deal.
"On-call" judge, Justice Goose, granted the temporary stay at 2:25 a.m. local time to two Chagos petitioners, ruling that the defendant, the Home Office, must "maintain the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom over the British Indian Ocean Territory until further order," pending a further hearing during working hours Thursday.
The 11th-hour legal action forced the ceremony with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian government representatives to be put on hold.
Stuart Luke, legal counsel for Beatrice Pompe, one of the claimants, told the Financial Times that his client was "deeply concerned that the government has chosen to give up sovereignty of the Chagos Islands without any consultation or protections for those that are indigenous to the islands."
A British government spokesman declined to comment but insisted the deal with its former colony was "the right thing to protect the British people and our national security."
