Britain has signed a deal with Mauritius to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands while retaining control of the Diego Garcia airbase under a 99-year lease. Despite legal challenges and political criticism,

A British court on Thursday paved the way for a government deal on returning the remote Chagos Islands to Mauritius, lifting a temporary ban which had forced an 11th-hour halt to an accord being signed .

Britain signed a multi-billion dollar deal on the future of the Chagos Islands with Mauritius after a last-gasp injunction was overturned, securing itself a lease for the U.S.-UK Diego Garcia air base for the next century.

Mauritius and Russia have agreed to strengthen ties, amid fears that the UK was too hasty in deciding to hand over the Chagos Islands.

The decision to return the islands at a cost to the UK has been made amid welfare cuts and calls to prioritise domestic spending.

Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, was separated from Mauritius along with the rest of the Chagos Islands in 1965 and now houses a US military base The government has temporarily been banned from concluding talks on the Chagos Islands deal by a last-minute injunction by a High Court judge.