The government has temporarily been banned from concluding talks on the Chagos Islands deal by a last-minute injunction by a High Court judge.
At 02:25 BST Mr Justice Goose granted “interim relief” to Chagossian Bertrice Pompe who had brought a case against the Foreign Office.
In his order, the judge said: “The defendant shall take no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory, also known as the Chagos Archipelago, to a foreign government or bind itself as to the particular terms of any such transfer.”
The court will hear the case again at 10:30 on Thursday.
