The UK has reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Falkland Islands after a memo leaked from Washington indicated that the US could withdraw its support.
A leaked internal Pentagon email suggested Washington could review its position on Britain’s claim to the islands as part of a wider punishment for Nato allies not showing support for the US war in Iran.
US president Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised Nato for a lack of support since he launched his offensive in the Middle East, threatening to withdraw altogether as he branded the alliance a “paper tiger”.
The confidential memo, which also considers suspending Spain from the alliance, floats the idea of reassessing Washington’s diplomatic support for European “imperial possessions”, such as the Falklands.
A spokesperson for British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer reaffirmed the UK’s sovereignty over the islands: “We could not be clearer about the UK’s position on the Falkland Islands. It is long-standing, it is unchanged.
“Sovereignty rests with the UK and the islands’ right to self-determination is paramount. It’s been our consistent position and will remain the case,” the spokesperson said, adding that Britain had expressed that position “clearly and consistently to successive US administrations”.
More than 3,600 people reside in the Falkland Islands, a small archipelago in the South Atlantic, per the 2021 census. Argentina invaded and occupied the the islands for 10 weeks in 1982 after long-running negotiations with Great Britain collapsed over their ownership. The Reagan administration publicly supported Britain through the conflict.
Experts have told The Independent that losing US support for British sovereignty would have no impact in practical terms.
Admiral Lord West of Spithead – the commanding officer of HMS Ardent, a frigate that was sunk in the Falklands War – said that militarily, losing US support for British sovereignty would have “no impact”.
“The recognition or otherwise by the US does not make the Islands less secure,” the former Royal Navy commander-in-chief added.
Philip Ingram MBE, a former colonel, told The Independent that Washington’s withdrawal of support could not undermine international law – and the will of the Falkland citizens.
“Under international law the fate of the Falklands is down to the will of its people, no matter what Trump says – so their sovereignty is not under any threat,” he said.
“Argentina is many, many years off developing a capability that could threaten the Falklands and the small force the UK has there could be reinforced quickly even given the pressures on our armed forces. This is simply Trump clickbaiting and nothing else.”
Questions have amped up around UK sovereignty over the Falklands since Argentine president Javier Milei took office in 2023. The populist leader, who has a strong relationship with the US president, has repeatedly claimed Argentine sovereignty over the islands.
