The governments of Britain and Mauritius have reached a final deal to settle the future of the Chagos Islands but have been barred from signing it by a British judge.

Britain’s government has been temporarily blocked from concluding its deal to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, PA Media reported, after an 11th-hour injunction by a High Court judge.

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.