Simon Weston, one of Britain's most recognized Falklands War veterans, is calling on King Charles III to use his upcoming state visit to the United States to convince President Donald Trump to drop any suggestion that Washington might shift its position on British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
Weston told BBC Newsnight that Trump's behavior amounted to a "hissy fit" and said the comments made the sacrifice of those who served in the 1982 war feel "slightly irrelevant." Weston himself nearly died in that conflict. He suffered burns to almost 50 percent of his body when Argentine forces bombed the Sir Galahad, a British ship whose loss represented the largest single death toll for British forces during the war.
The controversy stems from an internal Pentagon email reported by Reuters, which suggested the U.S. was considering options to punish NATO allies it believed had failed to support its war on Iran. The BBC said it had not been able to review the email directly. A U.S. State Department spokesperson, cited by AFP, said Washington's position on the Falklands remained "one of neutrality" and that the U.S. recognized "de facto United Kingdom administration" of the islands without taking a formal side on sovereignty.
The timing is notable. The report emerged just three days before King Charles and Queen Camilla are due to begin a state visit to the United States. Weston said he hoped the monarch could persuade Trump to "back down and calm down."
"He's paying absolutely no heed to the humanity that he's abusing with his words because the people of the Falklands deserve more respect, but so do every veteran who served down there deserve more respect," Weston said.
Downing Street was firm in its response. Prime Minister Keir Starmer's spokesman said Friday that "sovereignty rests with the UK, and the islanders' right to self-determination is paramount." The statement pointed to a 2013 referendum in which all but three of the islands' 1,672 eligible voters chose to remain a British Overseas Territory, on a turnout of more than 90 percent.
Argentina has renewed its call to reopen sovereignty negotiations with the United Kingdom. The UK is not expected to agree. The Falklands government issued its own statement Friday expressing "complete confidence in the commitment made by the UK government to uphold and defend our right of self-determination."
The islands have been under British administration since 1833 and lie roughly 300 miles off the Argentine coast in the south-west Atlantic. The 10-week war in 1982 ended with the surrender of Argentine forces, but Argentina has never relinquished its claim to the territory it calls the Malvinas.
