Falklands veteran Simon Weston blasts Trump’s threat to withdraw US support a ‘cruel joke’
Falklands veteran Simon Weston has branded reports that Sir Keir Starmer could review the US position in the South Atlantic region in retaliation for his lack of support for the war in Iran as a “cruel joke”.
An internal Pentagon email lays out options for Mr. Trump’s administration to punish NATO allies who refuse to join U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
The memo, first reported by Reuters, proposes a reassessment of U.S. diplomatic support for “imperial possessions” such as the Falkland Islands.
Argentina has long claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands and occupied them in 1982 before being defeated in a short but bloody war.
writing for IndependentMr Weston, who was injured while serving in combat during the bombing of the British ship Sir Galahad, described the changing US position as “unnecessary” and “unfair” and warned that Mr Trump’s words “could encourage his friends in Argentina to restart a similar conflict”.
The possible change in US policy led Argentina to call for negotiations with Britain on the region; but Downing Street insisted the islands’ sovereignty was “unquestionable”.
Mr Weston wrote: “It is not credible that the legacy the islanders have created, the peace, tranquility, financial and economic success and everything else that comes with it, is being thrown into turmoil and uncertainty by the words of a man who has declared himself the leader of the free world. It is so unnecessary. It is so unfair.”
“This should be classed as a cruel joke. The Falkland islanders are innocent pawns in a political game. Everyone can see that the islands have nothing to do with Mr Trump and that he cannot play the schoolyard bully role forever.”
He added: “We lost 48 men on the Sir Galahad. I knew most of them. They were good friends of mine. A further 10 men died outside the ship in the attack, so over 60 men died that day…
“If after 44 years someone can bring all this back, what was it for? All this, all my wounded colleagues, all the friends and families of the soldiers and airmen who died, all the Argentinians who died needlessly, the three civilians who died. What was this for?”
“Unfortunately, Mr. Trump’s words may encourage his friends in Argentina to start something like this again. I’m desperate.”
Mr Weston also told BBC Newsnight he hoped the King could persuade Mr Trump to “back down” on the Falkland Islands during his state visit next week.
He said: “I hope [the King] I could kind of catch it. [Mr Trump] To step back and calm down about the Falkland Islands.
“What we don’t need is [Argentine president Javier Milei] Mr. Milei must roll up his sleeves and believe that aggression will work, because it will cost more lives.”
The master added: “The King is an incredible statesman, he’s a great ambassador for this country, he’s someone who is respected by the world, and I think he can smooth that situation out a little bit so that we don’t put ourselves in a situation where we’re allegedly allies, but it brings it to a different point in the relationship.”
Mr Weston’s intervention came after Admiral Lord West of Spithead, commander of the frigate HMS Ardent sunk in the Falklands conflict, said: Independent the reports were “an insult to the autonomous, self-reliant and free people of the Falkland Islands”.
This debate is the latest sign of tensions in US-UK relations, which have become increasingly tense following the Iran war.
But this week the US president said he thought a state visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla next week could “absolutely” repair relations with Britain amid a growing dispute with Sir Keir Starmer.
Asked on Friday about reports of a possible change in US position on the Falkland Islands, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “The Falkland Islands voted overwhelmingly in favor of remaining an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, and we have always stood by the islanders’ right to self-determination and the fact that sovereignty resides with the United Kingdom.”
Asked whether the UK was prepared to defend the islands against any threat, the spokesman said: “The sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and the United Kingdom and the right to self-determination of the islanders are not at issue, and we have expressed this position clearly and consistently.”
Addressing further the question of whether Britain could defend the Falkland Islands, officials described the question as “hypothetical” and added: “That’s not the situation we’re in.”
Meanwhile, the Falkland Islands government said it had “full confidence in the UK government’s commitment to support and defend our right to self-determination”.
