UK signs £3.4bn deal to cede sovereignty over Chagos Islands to Mauritius

Keir Starmer, with Gen Sir Jim Hockenhull, said it was ‘one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the US’. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The UK has signed a £3.4bn agreement to cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius after an 11th-hour legal challenge failed.

Keir Starmer told a press conference on Thursday afternoon he had signed the deal and that it was “one of the most significant contributions that we make to our security relationship with the United States”.