The British government has handed control of the strategically significant Chagos Islands to Mauritius, after the controversial, multi-billion pound move survived an eleventh-hour legal challenge and months of criticism on both sides of the Atlantic.

A ceremony transferring sovereignty of the British Indian Ocean Territory of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius was called off at the last moment after the High Court in London granted an injunction to islanders.

The order, granted at 2.25am by Mr Justice Goose, states that the government may take "no conclusive or legally binding step to conclude its negotiations concerning the possible transfer of the British Indian Ocean Territory".