There are signs of unease within the Government about the plan to hand over the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Keir Starmer has insisted that a deal on the 'legal certainty' of the Chagos Islands is 'vital to national security'.

Britain struck a deal in October to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius - a former colony that became independent in 1968 - while retaining control under a 99-year

The UK government has denied claims made by the prime minister of Mauritius that it faces paying billions more under a renegotiated deal over the future of the Chagos Islands. Last October, the UK announced it would hand over sovereignty of the islands to Mauritius but would maintain a 99-year lease over the UK-US military airbase on the largest island,

The UK government said it wouldn’t provide any details on a proposed multibillion-pound deal to continue operating a military base in the Chagos archipelago once it cedes control of the islands until it’s finalized,