UK position on Falklands will not change, No 10 says after leaked Pentagon memo

Though the Falklands proposal looks vague and there is no immediate sign of it being adopted, the reference to the islands appears deliberately designed to provoke a reaction in the UK, where memories of the 1982 war linger.

The US provided discreet support for the UK during the conflict, which followed Argentina’s invasion of the remote south Atlantic islands, including satellite and signals intelligence and Stinger hand-held missiles.

Britain recaptured the Falklands in June 1982 at the end of a bitter 74-day conflict, in which 255 members of the British armed forces, 649 Argentinians and three Falkland Islanders were killed.

Though there has been no return to hostilities, the status of the islands remains disputed by Argentina, now led by Trump’s ally President Javier Milei.

Starmer largely kept the UK out of the Iran war, but unlike other European countries did allow the US to fly B-1 and B-52 bombers on what were deemed defensive missions, including against Iranian missile launchers and anything used to target shipping in the strait of Hormuz.

Trump, however, repeatedly complained about the lack of military support provided by the UK, complaining that Britain only wanted to help in protecting the strait after the war was over, that the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers were “toys”, and compared Starmer to Neville Chamberlain.

Asked if Starmer believed he was being pressured by Trump to change his stance, the spokesperson said: “The PM has said very clearly that he won’t be pressured on the Iran war. He will always act in the national interests of the UK and will not be dragged into this war.”

The public outbursts are markedly different from 1982, when the US president, Ronald Reagan, made clear his support for the British prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, in private. “We will do what we can to assist you. Sincerely, Ron,” he wrote shortly after the initial Argentinian invasion.

Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, played down the reports. Speaking in Cyprus on Friday morning, where he was attending a meeting of EU leaders to discuss topics including Nato’s mutual assistance clause, Sánchez stressed that Spain was a “loyal” Nato member and one that complied with its responsibilities.

“We don’t work on the basis of emails; we work with official documents and statements made by the US government,” he added. “The Spanish government’s position is clear: absolute cooperation with allies, but always within the framework of international law.”

Sánchez – who has been the most vociferous European critic of the US and Israel’s war in Iran – angered Trump by refusing the US permission to use jointly operated bases in southern Spain. Trump responded by threatening to cut off all trade with Spain.

But Sánchez also went on to renew his criticisms of the US war. “The crisis that this illegal war has brought to the Middle East shows the failure of brute force – and has prompted demands for international law to be respected and for the multilateral order to be safeguarded and reinforced,” he said.