Falklands sovereignty ‘not in question’, says No10 amid Trump retaliation threat

Downing Street said the UK ’couldn’t be clearer’ about Britain’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after leaked messages suggested the US might order a review in retaliation over Iran.

No10 said the Government "couldn’t be clearer" that sovereignty on the territory remains with the UK after the US President’s latest intervention. On Thursday evening it emerged that the unpredictable US commander-in-chief is considering punishing Britain for not co-operating with the chaotic Iran war.

A leaked Pentagon email outlines options for Trump to hit back at Nato allies for lack of support in the Middle East, according to Reuters. These include reassessing US diplomatic support for European "imperial possessions" - like the Falklands, which are in the South Atlantic near Argentina.

The revelation sparked outrage, with war hero Simon Weston - who suffered life-changing burns in the Falklands War - likening Trump to a schoolyard bully.

A No10 spokesman said: "We could not be clearer about the UK’s position on the Falkland Islands. Its longstanding and unchanged sovereignty rests with the UK and the island’s right to self-determination is paramount, and it’s been our consistent position and will remain so."

He continued: "UK sovereignty and the islanders’ right to self-determination is not in question. And we’ve expressed that position clearly and consistently. We’ll continue to do so."

Asked if the UK was in a position to defend the islands, the spokesman said: "That is not the situation we’re in. That’s a hypothetical."

The US President’s comments will not make the PM change course on Iran, the spokesman said. Buenos Aires asserts a claim over the islands - also known as Las Malvinas - which are administered by the UK. The US supported Britain’s efforts to retake the islands during the Falklands War in 1982, a conflict which saw 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops die.

Veteran soldier Mr Weston said the islands have nothing to do with Trump. He told Times Radio: "We’re all independent countries and we have our right to our own opinion and the way we deal with things. And if he doesn’t like it well tough on him you can’t be a schoolyard bully forever."

And he added: "It’ll enrage the islanders because they don’t deserve this. All they want to do is live peacefully and get on about their business and they’ve done it incredibly well in the last 44 years.

"The Conflict has had a great legacy for them and we should applaud that, but they should be left alone to get on with their own business and it’s nothing to do with Mr Trump.

"The veterans will feel the same way, you know: just because he feels slighted because people didn’t rush to his war that he created that he started he did not need to start this.."

And the war hero added: "If he’s got a beef with Mr Starmer then that’s for him to sort out in big boy style."

The latest threat has sparked calls for King Charles’s state visit to the US to be cancelled. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “This is frankly outrageous and any move by the President to question our sovereignty in the Falklands should be met by robust denouncement.

"The only people that want the King’s US state visit to go ahead next week are Trump’s cheerleaders, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage, who have no genuine interest in standing up for British values.

“The state visit should clearly be pulled - this unreliable, damaging President cannot keep insulting our country.”

The Pentagon memo also floated the idea of kicking Spain out of Nato, after Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez criticised Operation Epic Fury and refused to allow Spain’s bases or airspace to be used to attack Iran.

Vindictive Trump has also threatened to slap tariffs on the UK if it refuses to drop a digital services tax on American social media firms. First introduced in 2020, it imposes a 2% levy on the revenues of several major US tech companies.

Speaking to reporters from the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump said: “If they don’t drop the tax, we’ll probably put a big tariff on the UK.”

The plan to review support European territories was reportedly nestled in an internal Pentagon email that laid out options to punish Nato allies. Trump has lashed out at the defensive alliance after claiming he did not need anyone else to help crush the Iranian regime.

Documents also said the US should consider withdrawing troops from Europe, according to reports.

When asked about the document, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said: "As President Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us. The War Department will ensure that the President has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part. We have no further comment on any internal deliberations to that effect."