Let's bring you some more of what was heard in court now.

Harriet Mathews, director general for Africa, the Americas and Overseas Territories at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, told the High Court that the overnight injunction had "caused harm to the UK's reputation" with Mauritius, the US and others who use the Diego Garcia military base or have interest in its use.

She writes in her witness statement that as a result the UK is "expending significant diplomatic effort to manage these implications and to reassure Mauritius and our partners that we are still committed to g the agreement".

We've just been hearing reaction from Bertrice Pompe, one of the two Chagossian women whose legal action led to the last-minute injunction, which has now been overturned.

Speaking outside the High Court, she tells reporters it's a "very, very, sad day" but "we are not giving up".

Pompe says the British government has not "been able to rectify the wrongs" of the deal.

"They still want to give a deaf ear to our cries," she adds.

She says she and other Chagossians are British citizens who "don't want to... hand over our rights to Mauritius".

Their lawyer says British people have to ask themselves and their MPs whether they agree with the deal, which is due to be signed imminently ahead of a Commons vote.

As they finish speaking to the media, Chagossian campaigners can be heard chanting "no retreat" and "never surrender".

In Westminster, the Chagos debate focuses on money and securitypublished at 13:59 British Summer Time 22 May

13:59 BST 22 May

Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent

That brief final legal wrangle over, the government can now sign the deal with Mauritius to transfer the sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory, or the Chagos Islands.

The government will hope that in so doing it can conclude the long-running controversy here in Westminster over the issue.

The temporary injunction had been sought by Chagossians angry that the deal would not allow them to go to live on the islands.

But that was not really the focus of the debates on this issue in Westminster, where two other issues were more prevalent.

The first was over money. Mauritius will lease Diego Garcia back to the UK for 99 years. How much will the UK pay for that arrangement - and will the payments be upfront or staggered? We may now get some clarity on that.

The second controversy concerned security. There are some who simply do not believe assurances from Mauritius that the base will be adequately safeguarded, given the country’s close relationship with China.

On that, we will not get clarity today — we will simply find out who was right over the coming 99 years.

How much could the Chagos deal cost the UK?published at 13:47 British Summer Time 22 May

13:47 BST 22 May

By Tamara Kovacevic

There have been reports that the Chagos deal could cost the UK government £18bn, a figure the Foreign Office has labelled "inaccurate and misleading".

The UK has had sovereignty over the islands for over 50 years but agreed to hand them to Mauritius in October.

The draft agreement includes the island of Diego Garcia, used as a UK-US military base.

Under the plans, which have not been finalised, the base will remain and the UK will lease the island for at least 99 years.

The government hasn’t denied reports that the lease could cost the UK around £9bn over 99 years, external.

The Mauritius PM has said the UK's payments would be increased in line with inflation and a bigger portion of it would be paid upfront.

The Times has reported, external that this would effectively double the UK payment to £18bn, but this has been denied by the government.

Image source, AFP

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says the Chagos deal is "yet another example of Labour chaos".

"They cannot negotiate. Whenever they negotiate, Britain loses," she tells reporters. "We should not be paying to surrender British territory to Mauritius."

She's asked by one journalist if she had raised any concerns about negotiations with former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who lead the initial talks with Mauritius.

Badenoch says that David Cameron was the last foreign secretary for the previous government.

Cameron "paused all this" before "Labour picked this up, started it again and is now surrendering British territory", she adds.

A crowd of campaigners has been assembled outside the High Court over the last few hours.

Among them, Richard Tice - deputy leader of Reform UK.

Posting on X, he says: "Delighted to be with Chagossians at High Court trying to stop another Starmer surrender sell out."

Image source, PA Media

Image source, PA Media

Alice Cuddy
International reporter

Earlier today, representatives of different Chagossian groups met Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty to go over the details of the deal.

After coming out of the meeting, 36-year-old Jemmy Simon, from the Chagossian Voices group, told me she felt there was “nothing in there that is any good for us".

“I’m beyond horrified and angry right now,” she said, before heading to the High Court to watch the hearing.

Jemmy, whose mother was born on Diego Garcia - the largest of the Chagos Islands - added that "nothing really positive" had come out of the meeting.

The Chagos islanders were not told that the deal would be signed today, and some felt that the meeting would be a chance to negotiate the and have their concerns listened to.

It's important to note that the Chagos islanders themselves – some in Mauritius and the Seychelles, and others living in Crawley in Sussex – do not speak with one voice on the fate of their homeland.

Commons Leader Lucy Powell says Defence Secretary John Healey is expected to make a Commons statement later about the "future of the Diego Garcia military base".

(Diego Garcia is the largest of the Chagos Islands).

She says the statement will take place "probably at the end of business", which could mean around 17:00 BST.

A spokesperson for the UK government welcomes the decision from a High Court judge to overturn the injunction.

This deal is "vital to project the British people and our national security," they say.

Here's what the Mr Justice Chamberlain said as he discharged (i.e. lifted) the injunction:

"The public interest and the interests of the United Kingdom would be substantially prejudiced by the grant or continuance of interim relief, and these matters provide a strong public interest reason against the continuance of interim relief."

Responding to the High Court judge, Sir James Eadie - the lawyer for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office - says: "My instructions from Number 10 are that we need a decision by 1pm today if we are to sign today, and everybody is standing by."

As we just reported, the UK's Chagos deal has been allowed to continue after a judge discharged an eleventh-hour injunction to block it.

Addressing the High Court, Mr Justice Chamberlain says: "I have concluded that the stay granted by Mr Justice Goose should be discharged and there should be no further interim relief.

"The agreement can be concluded today and it does not necessarily have to be at 9:00."

Image source, EPA

A High Court judge has lifted an injunction that blocked the government from concluding its negotiations over the Chagos Islands.

We'll bring you more on this shortly.

At the High Court in London, Mr Justice Chamberlain has returned to the courtroom.

He is now giving his judgement over whether to continue the injunction that's blocking the UK from concluding its negotiations over the Chagos Islands.

As we just reported, the Conservative government began negotiations on the Chagos Islands in 2022.

But the party now opposes the deal to hand over sovereignty to Mauritius.

This morning, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "The government should tear up its plans to surrender the Chagos Islands.

"This is a disgraceful surrender of British sovereignty."

The Chagos Islands were separated from Mauritius in 1965, when Mauritius was still a British colony.

Britain purchased the islands for £3m, but Mauritius says it was illegally forced to give them away, as part of the deal to get independence from Britain.

In the late 1960s, Britain invited the US to build a military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island. It removed thousands of people from their homes.

The UK has come under growing pressure to return the islands to Mauritius, with both the United Nations' top court and general assembly siding with Mauritius over sovereignty claims.

In late 2022, the Conservative government began negotiations, but did not reach an agreement by the time it lost power in 2024.

Image source, EPA

The legal action was brought by two Chagossian women, Bernadette Dugasse and Bertrice Pompe, who want to return to live on the islands.

Under both the current arrangement, and the proposed new deal, Chagossians are prevented from returning to Diego Garcia - the largest of the islands, and home to the UK-US military base.

Earlier this year, their lawyer Michael Polak said: "The government's attempt to give away the Chagossians' homeland whilst failing to hold a formal consultation with the Chagossian people is a continuation of their terrible treatment by the authorities in the past.

"They remain the people with the closest connection to the islands, but their needs and wishes are being ignored."

A hearing on the case began shortly after 10:30 BST. As reported, the deal was halted at 02:25 this morning.

Image source, EPA

Owen Amos
Live editor

Image source, PA Media

The UK wants to hand over control of the Chagos Islands - a British island group in the Indian Ocean - to Mauritius, before leasing back a UK-US military base on the islands.

The deal was expected to be signed today. But at 02:25 BST, Mr Justice Goose granted "interim relief" to two Chagossian women who had brought a case against the Foreign Office.

We'll bring you any updates from the court on this page - so stay with us.