Mauritius threatens to sue Britain over Chagos as country's PM says sovereignty of the islands is 'non negotiable'

Mauritius has threatened to sue Britain over delays to the Chagos island "surrender" deal.

Navin Ramgoolam, the Prime Minister of Mauritius, last week warned Jonathan Powell, the UK national security adviser, he was prepared to "take the legal route" unless the issue was "expeditiously resolved".

The Mauritian Prime Minister travelled to London to discuss the deal after it became a key point at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month.

At a bilateral meeting of Andy Burnham and Donald Trump, the President said the much-maligned deal was "terrible", and highlighted the strategic importance of joint military base Diego Garcia during the Iran war.

"It's strategically very important," he said. "Very important. We had to send our B2 bombers when we bombed the Iran nuclear [sites], we had to send the B2 bombers back home to Missouri, as opposed to flying for a short period of time."

Wes Streeting, the Defence Secretary has admitted it was unlikely the deal could be carried out without the support of Mr Trump, but said the Government "remains committed to the agreement".

At last week's meeting, the Mauritian Prime Minister "stressed" that his country's claim to the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, including Diego Garcia, was "not negotiable", according to The Telegraph.

He also claimed the "non-ratification of the treaty to date, rendered the present status quo untenable".

Mauritian cabinet ministers were briefed on the meeting and told their Prime Minister, Mr Ramgoolam, made it clear to the UK that while diplomatic talks would continue "it would be inevitable that Mauritius would take the legal route unless the matter was expeditiously resolved".

During his trip to London, the Mauritian Prime Minister also met with his legal team to finalise a legal strategy.

At the UNGA, the island country's Foreign Minister, Dhananjay Ramful, told the hall trust was "reinforced" when the UK follows international bodies, including the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s advisory opinion, which "carries authoritative obligations".

On September 21 - before the UNGA - Mr Burnham had a call with his Mauritian counterpart and "underlined his commitment to working with Mauritius and the United States on a way forward that secures the operation of the base and protects UK national security", according to a No10 readout.

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But despite the commitment from the Prime Minister, Whitehall officials are concerned there is no diplomatic resolution to appease both Mauritius and the White House.

Instead, Mr Burnham is planning to wait out Mr Trump's presidency to cede the strategically important islands to Mauritius, handing £35billion in cash terms to the country to loan back the base for 99 years.

British opponents of the deal include leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage and the Conservatives.

Mr Farage has previously told GB News that Mr Burnham should have kicked off his bilateral meeting with Mr Trump by saying: "we're not going to give away the Chagos Islands to a Chinese influence, Mauritius".

And Dame Priti Patel, the former Shadow Foreign Secretary, said: "Rather than sucking up to Mauritius any further, if Labour believes in our national security, they would defend British sovereignty and scrap their £35billion surrender treaty.

"Instead they continue to follow in Sir Keir Starmer's footsteps with this reckless surrender of a sovereign territory, while putting our national security at risk. This madness must end."

A Foreign Office spokesman told The Telegraph: "Diego Garcia is a key strategic military asset for both the UK and the US, and is vital to our shared national security. Maintaining its long-term operation has been the UK’s driving objective since negotiations began in 2022.

"We have always been clear that an agreement with Mauritius must protect UK interests and command US support.

"As the PM has said, we continue to work with both the US and Mauritius to find a diplomatic resolution."