No 10 says Falklands sovereignty rests with UK after report of US ‘review’

BBC:

Sovereignty of the Falkland Islands “rests with the UK”, Downing Street has said, following a report the US could review its position on Britain’s claim to the territory.

An internal Pentagon email reported by Reuters suggested the US was considering options to punish Nato allies it believed had failed to support its war on Iran.

The options discussed also included seeking Spain’s suspension from Nato over its opposition to the war. BBC News has not been able to review the email.

A Pentagon spokesperson did not comment on the email’s existence, but said it would “ensure that the president has credible options to ensure that our allies are no longer a paper tiger and instead do their part”.

“As President [Donald] Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us,” the spokesperson added.

The Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina.

Asked about the report, a No 10 spokesman on Friday said: “The Falkland Islands have previously voted overwhelmingly in favour of remaining a UK overseas territory, and we’ve always stood behind the islanders’ right to self-determination and the fact that sovereignty rests with the UK.”

The prime minister’s official spokesman also said the government “could not be clearer about the UK’s position”, and that “sovereignty rests with the UK and the islanders’ right to self-determination is paramount”.