Labour's controversial Chagos deal is under further pressure as it could be challenged in court while President Donald Trump makes a last minute intervention.
Former government law officer Sir Michael Ellis said the deal had been so poorly handled that it has exposed ministers to the prospect of a judicial review that could see the decision overturned in court.
Ellis cited multiple reasons why the deal could be challenged in court, including the cost of the deal, the Government’s "imperialist" approach to the rights of the Chagossians as well as national security consequences
He told The Telegraph: "The Government is in danger of a court finding that their decisions over the Chagos Islands are not just bad, they are irrational."
The US is reportedly demanding a seat at the negotiating table
Reuters/Getty/PA
It comes as the US is demanding a seat at the negotiating table alongside the UK and Mauritius.
Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said that they have "agreed" to let Washington have a seat at the negotiations table.
He said that the "final document" was still waiting for the green light from Trump's administration, though his main focus was gaining "total sovereignty" of the Chagos Islands rather than just a financial package.
Ramgoolam's comments came during an event celebrating Olivier Bancoult, a Chagossian campaigner who has protested against the UK's claims over the territory for decades.
However, the PM refused to comment further on the proposed agreement to The Telegraph as it is "too sensitive".
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Mauritian Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam said the White House had asked for a "representative in the meetings"
GETTYMauritius has long maintained it was illegally forced to give up the Chagos Islands in exchange for its independence from Britain in 1968.
Until recently, the UK had insisted that Mauritius had no legitimate claim to the islands. However, in recent years, it has faced mounting diplomatic pressure over its control of the Chagos Islands.
In October, the UK announced it would hand over sovereignty of the islands but would maintain a 99-year lease over the UK-US military airbase on the largest island, Diego Garcia.
Paul Bérenger, Deputy prime Mauritian minister, said that Britain had relinquished "total sovereignty" to the East Asian country.
He said by giving up power, “the English have definitively buried the BIOT (British Indian Ocean Territories)", a comment that was met with cheers from a crowd of Chagossians.
Sir Keir Starmer had agreed to hand over the strategic territory to Mauritius late last yearREUTERSForeign Secretary David Lammy is expected to meet his US counterpart Marco Rubio later this month in another bid to get the Trump administration on side regarding the deal.
The deal - which was struck in October - includes the UK paying lease payments over 99 years to Mauritius for the Diego Garcia military air base.
The Biden administration had greenlit the deal, however, when Ramgoolam came to power later that month, he decided he wanted to reopen negotiations.
Trump has not publicly commented on Britain's plan, though US officials have previously expressed concerns that relinquishing control the islands to Mauritius, which shares growing ties with Beijing, could allow China to expand its influence in the region.
Rubio reportedly used his first phone call with Lammy to challenge him over the terms of the handover.
Ramgoolam will be flying to Ethiopia, for the 38th African Union Summit later today, where the Chagos deal will be discussed.
He told reporters on Wednesday night: "It is important that our African brothers and sisters understand this fight. This is the last colony that is fighting to no longer be a colony."
