Highlights
- A Pentagon email reported by Reuters suggested the US was considering reviewing its support for UK sovereignty over the Falklands.
- Downing Street said sovereignty "rests with the UK" and the islanders' right to self-determination is "paramount".
- Report emerged just three days before King Charles and Queen Camilla are due to meet Trump at the White House.
Political reaction grows
The report triggered sharp reactions from across British politics. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch called the reported US position "absolute nonsense", adding: "We need to make sure that we back the Falklands.
They are British territory." Reform UK's Nigel Farage said the matter was "utterly non-negotiable" and confirmed he would raise it with Argentina's president Javier Milei when they meet later this year.
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey renewed his call for King Charles's US visit to be cancelled, saying Trump "cannot keep insulting our country." The White House has not yet responded to the report.
The Falkland Islands have been under British rule since 1833 and are still claimed by Argentina, which calls them the Malvinas.
A 2013 referendum saw almost all of the islands' 1,650 eligible voters choose to remain a British overseas territory, on a turnout of over 90 per cent.
The Pentagon email also floated the idea of pushing for Spain's suspension from Nato over its opposition to the Iran war, though a Nato official noted the alliance's founding treaty has no provision for suspending or expelling members.
Trump has previously said he was "not happy" with the level of support the UK had offered during the Iran conflict, while prime minister Keir Starmer has repeatedly said Britain will not be drawn into a wider war.
