MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

UK political reaction to Pentagon leak: 'Falklands sovereignty is not up for debate'

A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that sovereignty “rests with the UK” and invoked the islanders' right to self-determination

The UK government closed ranks on Friday around its sovereignty claim over the Falklands, after the publication of an internal Pentagon email that considers reconsidering US diplomatic support for London over the archipelago as retaliation for Britain's refusal to join the military offensive against Iran. The institutional response was matched by a political front that included governing and opposition parties, as well as the Falklands government itself, amid the imminent state visit by King Charles III to the United States.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated that sovereignty “rests with the UK” and invoked the islanders' right to self-determination. “We could not be clearer about the UK's position on the islands,” he said, adding that the position has been conveyed “clearly and consistently to successive US administrations” and that “nothing is going to change that.” The Falklands government issued a statement expressing its “complete confidence” in London's commitment to defending its right to self-determination.

The reaction extended beyond the governing party. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the reported US stance “absolute nonsense,” while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the archipelago's sovereignty is “utterly non-negotiable” and signaled he would raise the matter with Argentine President Javier Milei when they meet later this year. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey renewed his call to cancel the King's state visit, scheduled to begin on Monday.

A particularly sharp response came from Admiral Lord West, former commanding officer of HMS Ardent during the 1982 war. Speaking on BBC Radio 4, he described the leak as “quite extraordinary” and dismissed US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for his “total lack of understanding” of NATO. Lord West recalled that the only time NATO's Article 5 had been invoked was in defense of the United States following the September 11, 2001 attacks. A NATO official consulted on the matter also noted that the alliance's founding treaty contains no provision for suspension or expulsion of members, in response to the memo's parallel hypothesis of pushing Spain out of NATO.

From Buenos Aires, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno reaffirmed on social media his country's sovereign rights over the islands and reiterated the willingness to “resume bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom that will allow for finding a peaceful and definitive solution.” The White House had not issued official comments on the memorandum by press time. The development comes just three days before King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin their state visit to the United States, marking a new point of friction in a bilateral relationship that has been strained by diplomatic and military tensions in recent weeks.