Britain and Mauritius denied on Wednesday media reports that London could end up paying double the amount in a renegotiated deal to retain a U.S.-British military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

Sir Keir Starmer has defended the controversial Chagos Islands deal after the Conservative leader branded it an "immoral surrender". The Government plans to give the British Indian Ocean Territory back to Mauritius and pay to lease the strategically important US-UK military base on the largest island, Diego Garcia.