LONDON (AP) — A British court said Thursday that the U.K. can transfer sovereignty over the contested and strategically located Chagos Islands to Mauritius, overturning a block that was imposed hours before the agreement was due to be signed.

Sir Keir Starmer has signed a deal to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and lease back a key military base for £101m a year. The prime minister said the deal was the only way to maintain the base's long-term future and strengthened the UK's national security.

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.