The British government has handed control of the strategically significant Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the controversial move survived an eleventh-hour legal challenge and months of criticism on both sides of the Atlantic.

A ceremony transferring sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was called off at the last moment after the High Court in London granted an injunction to islanders.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he has signed an agreement handing over sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.