After years of negotiations, the UK is giving up its sovereignty over a cluster of strategically important Indian Ocean islands. The move has led to criticism from Britain's Conservative opposition and some local Indigenous groups.

The government of Mauritius has long argued that it was illegally forced to give the Chagos Islands away in return for its own independence from the UK in 1968. At the time, the British government had already negotiated a secret deal with the US, agreeing to lease it the largest atoll, Diego Garcia, for use as a military base.

After decades of legal battles, Britain has agreed to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a former colony. The remote Indian Ocean archipelago will continue to host a US military base, but Chagossians exiled to make way for the base in the 1960s and 70s are questioning whether the deal can truly rectify past wrongs.