Falklands veteran Simon Weston said Donald Trump was having a ‘hissy fit’ over Britain’s refusal to back the Iran war after leaked Pentagon emails signalled a change in the White House’s position
British ministers and veterans have hit out after reports emerged that Donald Trump is planning to back Argentina’s claims to Falkland Islands.
Emails leaked from the Pentagon to US media today appeared to show Washington DC could review its position on their sovereignty in response to Britain not entering the Iran war.
But Falklands War hero Simon Weston branded the move a “hissy fit” – while Foreign Minister Yvette Cooper insisted the sovereignty of the islands is “not in question”. A total of 255 British Armed Forces personnel were killed in the 72-day war to regain the islands in 1982, with another 777 left wounded.
READ MORE: Trump directs ‘review’ into Britain’s claim over Falklands as ‘punishment’ over Iran warREAD MORE: Keir Starmer hits back at Trump after he orders review of Britain’s claim to Falkland Islands
Welsh Guardsman Simon Weston was left with life-changing burns covering 46% of his body when the RFA Sir Galahad was bombed by an Argentinian fighter jet. He was awarded a CBE in 2016 for his decades of charity work for British veterans and their families.
Speaking of his “sadness” for the islanders and his fellow veterans on hearing the news of the plans, he told LBC this afternoon: “He’s thrown them under a bus, because he’s having a hissy fit around no-one wanting to go to his fight.”
He added: “It’s destabilising for decent, hardworking people and the community that are there. They have to go to bed tonight with the uncertainty now that something may change – this is just cruel.”
After a Number 10 spokesperson earlier said the islands were not up for negotiation, Yvette Cooper wrote in a post on X (Twitter): “The Falklands Islands are British – sovereignty rests with the UK, self-determination rests with the islanders.” She added that the government’s commitment to the Falklands is “unwavering”.
A representative for the Falkland Islands Government stated: “Self-determination is a fundamental human right enshrined in article one, paragraph two of the Charter of the United Nations.
“In 2013, the Falkland Islands held an internationally observed sovereignty referendum, in which 99.8% of voters, on a turnout of 92 per cent, voted in favour of remaining an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom.”
The Pentagon has not commented on the email’s existence, but a spokesperson told the BBC it “will 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 Trump has said, despite everything that the United States has done for our Nato allies, they were not there for us,” they added.
Pleading again for the UK, France and NATO allies to join the US in the Iran war, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said this afternoon: “We are not counting on Europe, but they need the Strait of Hormuz much more than we do, and might want to start doing less talking and having less fancy conferences in Europe and get in a boat. This is much more their fight than ours.”
News of the Pentagon briefings on the Falklands has also brought renewed focus on Nigel Farage’s close ties to the Trump White House, with the Reform UK leader tweeting out this afternoon: “The Falklands are and will always be British.”
The row comes just days before King Charles’ state visit to the US next week, when he is due to meet meet with Trump at the White House.
