Confusion over Chagos Islands deal as Foreign Office denies handover ‘paused’

Minister ‘misspoke’ by telling MPs UK was ‘pausing for discussions with our American counterparts’, officials say

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Plans to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius are still on track, the UK government has insisted, after a minister caused confusion by telling MPs that the deal was “paused”.

Hamish Falconer, a Foreign Office minister and former diplomat, made the comment on Wednesday as the deal came under increasing pressure from opposition parties in the UK and from Donald Trump.