UK deal to hand over Chagos to Mauritius can go ahead, judge rules

A dramatic intervention last night by a senior judge threatens to throw Keir Starmer’s controversial plans to sign away the Chagos Islands to Mauritius today in chaos.

The plan is to sign the deal today which will give Mauritius sovereignty over the islands. It would follow months of wrangling amid concerns over the future of the UK/ US military base on Diego Garcia.

But a late legal challenge from a Chagossian saw High Court judge Sir Julian Goose put a pause on the treaty being signed at 3am this morning following hours of legal wrangling.

Bertrice Pompe, who initiated the emergency legal challenge, argued that the treaty would cause irreparable harm and violate fundamental legal and human rights principles.

She is a Chagossian, born on Diego Garcia and expelled at six months old. She grew up in the Seychelles and now lives in London. A British national, Ms Pompe—like thousands of Chagossians from the Seychelles and elsewhere—claims that she stands to gain nothing from the deal with Mauritius unless she applies for Mauritian citizenship.

A fresh hearing is set to take place a 10.30am this morning following the five hour marathon session last night.

But it is believed that this may be the first time in legal history that a judge has put a pause on a treaty being signed.

The UK government has argued that a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that the islands belong to Mauritius meant that it had no alternative but to negotiate a deal for the islands.

The agreement, which has still not been published, involves the UK leasing back the Diego Garcia base for at least 99 years for billions. The main block to signing was removed when Donald Trump gave the deal his blessing.

But critics believe it will undermine western security infrastructure in the Indian Ocean and could lead to Chinese interference in the islands.

However, the challenge has focussed on the grievances of the Chagossians who were expelled from Diego Garcia. The UK government has negotiated a right to return to the outer islands but islanders believe that their rights will not be protected.

Ms Pompe, the claimant, was represented by Philip Rule KC, leading Michael Polak, and instructed by Stuart Luke of Luke and Bridger Law. The Government was represented by William Irwin and John Bethell.

Mr Rule KC said that there had been a delay in issuing a wider legal challenge blocking the government signing the deal due to “problems with legal aid”, caused by the cyber attack on the Legal Aid Agency earlier this month.

Mr Rule, who addressed the court via videolink from New York, said: “While it is unfortunate and it in some way contributed to a late night and early morning… essentially, it is important that we act now without waiting for the funding final position to have been resolved.”

He told the court that the Foreign Office had been asked for 48 hours’ notice “of when it may come to a position such that we now find ourselves in”, but that no such notice was received.

He continued: “There was a leak to the newspapers that came to our attention on Tuesday evening.”

He added: “Without that journalistic revelation, we would not be where we are because the defendant would have it entirely to itself.”

Mr Rule admitted that the situation was “not ideal” but that there had been “ongoing attempts to be in a position to issue the claim” earlier.

The High Court also heard this morning that the Chagos Islands deal is “time-critical” but can still be completed on Thursday.

Mr Justice Chamberlain, summarising a document given to the court by the government, said: “The agreement can be concluded today and it does not necessarily have to be at 9am.”

He then asked Sir James Eadie KC, for the Foreign Office, whether “the agreement can still be concluded if it is concluded today”.

Sir James confirmed that that was the case.

The challenge has been brought by the Great British PAC, set up to bring legal challenges to the Starmer government.

Robert Jenrick said the Chagos deal is a “bad deal” after the court injunction.

The shadow justice secretary told Sky News: “It’s a sell-out for British interests.

“You’re seeing British sovereign territory being given away to an ally of China, and billions of pounds of British taxpayers’ money being spent for the privilege.

“Keir Starmer did it because of his view of international law, where he wanted to put a non-binding judgment by a foreign court above the interests, the core security interests of the British people.

“And so if this group can force the Government to think twice, then all power to them.”

The government said the Chagos Islands deal is the “right thing” for the UK after a court injunction temporarily blocked the agreement from being concluded.

A government spokesperson said: “We do not comment on ongoing legal cases. This deal is the right thing to protect the British people and our national security.”

I can’t get my kids out of my bed and it’s starting to impact my life

I remember the day I bought my super king size bed. It was a game-changer. I could co-sleep with my two children, Lola and Liberty, then aged three and one, without falling off the bed. I’d always thought sharing a bed with my kids was such a natural idea; it’s what many animals do in the wild. Of course, some people judged me: “You need headspace from them at night – some ‘me time’”; “It’s important for their independence that they have their own beds and bedrooms”; “It’s just not healthy”; “They’ll get separation anxiety”.

In my mind, though, it wouldn’t be long until my children were off having sleepovers with their friends and leaving the nest – so why not keep them snuggling up to me for as long as possible? I had no partner to consider. I am a single mum. So what was stopping me from sharing my bed for a heavenly connection? But little did I know that, five years down the line, co-sleeping with my children, now aged six and eight, would be a total nightmare. I feel I’ve been mis-sold the joys of co-sleeping and I don’t know what to do.

Numerous celebrities have spoken about the virtues of co-sleeping with their children. The Clueless actor Alicia Silverstone revealed in 2022 that she co-slept with her 11-year-old son Bear. “I’ll be in trouble for saying that, but I don’t really care,” Silverstone told the Ellen Fisher podcast. She added that co-sleeping was following “nature”. “I mean, if you were in any kind of wild setting where there are animals – if you put your baby [away from you], your baby is going to get eaten.”

Kourtney Kardashian admitted last month on a podcast that she has always shared a bed with her four kids, including her daughter, Penelope, until she was 11.

She also said that her mum, Kris, doesn’t agree with having a “kid in the bed” – but that she personally couldn’t sleep if her baby, Rocky, was in another room. “As a mother, I like to do what feels natural and instinctual to me,” she explained. “And that’s for me what it is. Of course, I also read all the benefits. And it’s something that mammals have been doing since time existed.”

For me, however, enough is enough. I’m sleep deprived and irritable. I wake up hanging off the edge of the mattress for dear life. I’m whacked in the face nightly and even when I shove them both over to the big empty space at the other side of the bed, they always roll back to my side – or on top of me. We have major arguments about who is going to sleep next to me because they both want to. If I sleep in the middle, I feel sandwiched in and claustrophobic. This “gentle” or “natural” approach to parenting, in which many mums, like me, co-sleep, doesn’t live up to the hype.

I got the dog out of my bed, so how do I do it with the kids? If I try to entice them into their bunk beds in the next room, they crawl back into my bed during the night (sometimes five minutes later). Co-sleeping has become the norm; to suggest any other arrangement feels like an emotional wrench for them and for me. But I dread the bed and need some space.

“There is no evidence that co-sleeping with older children is harmful if they are gaining independence in their lives in other productive ways,” says Dr Tovah Klein, the author of Raising Resilience: How to Help Children Thrive in Times of Uncertainty, who also points out that in many cultures co-sleeping with children is common. She adds that if all else is good with a child, co-sleeping should not be a problem until they are a teen. But usually, she says, children – or the parents – want to make a change earlier.

“If either party wants to [change co-sleeping], then that is the cue to help the child sleep in their own bed,” she tells me. “If not, resentment will build up, especially on the side of parents.” For some children, co-sleeping helps them develop resilience, she says, because they feel safe and secure. “But when a child is anxious or unable to move forward, the parent may need to take the initiative to help the child sleep on their own – to support the child’s development.”

A parent can do this, she adds, through setting up a structure where the child gradually moves to their own bed or room while being reassured that their parent will still be there for them, that they are still loved, and that the parent will help them learn to sleep in their own bed. “They will do it together, with the parent taking the lead to help it happen,” she says.

Dr Martha Deiros Collado, a clinical psychologist and the author of How to Be the Grown-Up: Why Good Parenting Starts With You, says that there is no research to show that co-sleeping makes a child less “well-adjusted”. “It’s a recent ‘modern’ trend to separate children into their own bedrooms,” she says. “For many families, this might be financially impossible, or at odds with their cultural norms.” There are many reasons for co-sleeping with older kids. For some, night-time might be the only moment of closeness with their child (due to working hours, separation, or grief of a parent). “Co-sleeping can feel like a loving way to offer and receive connection.”

But she points out that if the arrangement crosses a line into feeling like a burden (to a parent or child), interrupts a child’s growth towards independence, or is for the sole purpose of meeting the adults’ needs, it’s time to stop.

Professor Sarah Blunden, adjunct professor of psychology and paediatric sleep at Central Queensland University in Australia, says the reason co-sleeping has become a contentious subject is due to “societal expectations” that co-sleeping is not good for children’s long-term sleep habits and their independence. “Societal narrative often suggests that if you sleep with your child you will be sleeping with them forever, so it’s best not to start,” she says. “It is also suggested that independent sleeping encourages independence over co-sleeping. However, none of these [assumptions] are backed up by evidence.”

Co-sleeping, she adds, is often not recommended in countries and societies where independent sleeping is favoured. “This is often but not always in individualist societies like the UK, Australia and the US.” But when co-sleeping becomes a problem, such as when the parent(s) or child want to stop, then independent sleeping can be taught and practised.

I’m happy I co-slept with my children – until now. So it’s time for me to try the “camping out method” of sleep training. I’m going to join them in their bedroom and then slowly withdraw myself as the night goes on. I need to take into account the fact that if I’m not hugging them all night, how am I going to make that up elsewhere in the day? While I have every intention of getting my bed back, I think the solution is letting them sleep in my bed a few times a week. It might be a slippery slope, but if part-time co-sleeping works, it might be a happy solution.

Popular London wild swimming spot sees 1,188% increase in bacteria

One of London’s most popular outdoor swimming spots has seen a 1,188.8 per cent surge in a strain of bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections and severe food poisoning.

New research has revealed that the levels of E.coli in Hyde Park’s Serpentine Lido dramatically increased between 2023 and 2024, while samples taken at Hampstead Heath Mixed Ponds also increased by 230 per cent during the same period.

E.coli is a type of bacteria that lives in the intestines of humans and can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever and can lead to kidney failure.

The figures come after wild swimming has surged in popularity across the UK since the Covid-19 pandemic, but growing concerns have emerged over its safety due to the polluted nature of our waters.

In 2023, the Serpentine Lido had an E.coli count of 45 which had increased to 580 in 2024, while figures that indicate faecal contamination in the water also increased by 1,085 per cent.

Despite this, it has been recently rated as ‘Sufficient’ by the Environment Agency, which means the water meets the minimum standard required for a bathing water.

In response to widespread public anger, the government announced reforms to bathing water regulations earlier this year, which include changes to designation criteria for future sites, more flexible seasons, and an expansion of the legal definition of “bather”.

To monitor water quality, the Environment Agency said it plans to take more than 7,000 samples at 451 designated bathing sites across England throughout this year’s season.

Results from lab tests will be uploaded on to Swimfo to help the public decide where to swim, and will be ultimately used to classify the quality of each site as “excellent”, “good”, “sufficient” or “poor” at the end of the season.

Professor Davey Jones, a soil and environmental scientist at Bangor University, stressed the need for more rigorous monitoring of pathogens in water including viruses, which are currently not routinely tested for.

“They’re one of the biggest threats to human health,” said Professor Davey Jones.

“Some pathogens, like E. coli 0157, can enter groundwater through agricultural runoff and pose serious health risks, even in small amounts. As recreational water use increases, especially in urban settings like London, it’s vital we broaden our testing frameworks to include viral contaminants.”

Amelia Hornsby, from the Bathing Mobility Advisory Service (BMAS) who conducted the analysis, commented: “Water quality is a key indicator of environmental health and public safety.

“Consistently high standards are essential not only for protecting ecosystems, but also for ensuring safe and enjoyable access to our natural waters for local communities and visitors alike.”