UK 'an illegal colonial occupier' after missing UN deadline to return Chagos islands

Britain condemned after defying UN demand to relinquish territory

Chagos Islands are Britain's last remaining African territory

The UK has been called an illegal colonial occupier by Mauritius after failing to meet the UN deadline to return control of an overseas territory to the island nation.

Britain was given six months to return the Chagos Islands after the UN general assembly voted overwhelmingly to condemn its continued occupation of the Indian Ocean territory, but the deadline passed Friday.

Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth said the UK was now an illegal colonial occupier, according to the BBC.

Mauritius, a former British colony, claims it was forced to trade the Chagos Islands in exchange for independence.

Britain purchased the islands for £3m in 1965, when Mauritius was still a colony. The archipelago is known to the UK government as the British Indian Ocean Territory.

Earlier this year, the UN general assembly voted by an overwhelming majority of 116 to six countries in favour of a motion demanding that the islands, Britain's last remaining African territory, be reunited with Mauritius.

The UN had adopted the motion on the advice of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which found that the decolonisation of Mauritius was not "lawfully completed" according to international law.

The UK does not regard the judgement of the ICJ nor the UN motion as binding.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We have no doubt about our sovereignty over the British Indian Ocean Territory, which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814.

"Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the archipelago and we do not recognise its claim."

The spokesperson went on to say that the territory will remain in British hands until "it is no longer needed for defence purposes."