Keir Starmer warned not to give away Falkland Islands like Chagos - 'I'd deck him'

Keir Starmer has been warned not to give away the Falkland Islands after the Government paused its deal to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. Ian Cameron, 68, lived on the South Atlantic British overseas territory with his family for five years in the 1960s. His mother, Elizabeth 'Lynn' Mary Cameron passed away aged just 29 when he was seven years old.

She is buried in Stanley Cemetery. Mr Cameron, a former lab technician, who now resides in Dundee, said, speaking to the Express next to their war memorial during his third visit to the islands since the death of his mum: "If Mr Starmer was to figure that he was in negotiations for that, I would go to Downing Street [and] knock on the door. When he answered that door, I know it wouldn't be him, but I would ask, I want to speak to him.

"And when he came to the door, I would ask him if that's what he was doing, and if he said yes, I'm afraid I would deck him."

He added, a stone's throw from Thatcher Drive and a bust of the Iron Lady: "These people have a right to be British if they want to be British.

"These islands existed as the Falkland Islands long before Argentina ever existed as a country."

Cathy Jacobson, 67, originally from Southampton, has run The Victory pub with her husband Alistair in Stanley for more than 40 years.

She does not think the Falklands are at risk from a Chagos-like deal, but she condemned the Prime Minister's wish to give up the Indian Ocean archipelago.

"I don't think you should give them up," she said, "because it's people's livelihood.

"They [Chagosians] have lived there for all their lifetime, and why should they have it pulled from underneath them?"

Dan Biggs, 42, a tour guide and commanding officer in the FIDF, said islanders in general “feel secure” in their position within the British community.

But Mr Biggs added: “I guess there’s always uncertainty, but we’re very, very grateful for the support.”

Dan’s aunt, Coleen Biggs, 75, a volunteer at the islands’ museum, who moved from London to the Falklands in 2002 after living in South Georgia for 15 years, mentioned a proposed pre-war "leaseback" deal, whereby sovereignty would have been transferred to Argentina, but the UK would lease the islands back to continue administering them.

She said: “The same thing happened in the 1980s - the Foreign and Commonwealth Office were anxious to give it [the Falklands] away.

“But the people of Britain and the Parliament, and the Prime Minister actually wasn’t willing.

“I think it’s much the same situation now; I don’t think that we’d be bargained away.”

Ms Biggs added that what is being done with the Chagos Islands is “rather dubious”.

“The people who lived there originally should be the people who decide,” Ms Biggs said.

“They shouldn’t be handed about like a parcel.

“My family have been here 184 years now, so I think we have as much right as anyone else in the world to have a say.

“I think, really, they [Argentina] should just stay their side of the fence.”

Sally Blake, 83, who lives right next to the bust of Baroness Thatcher in the islands’ capital city, referenced the "leaseback" and suggested, laughing, that if the Argentines had waited, they might have achieved their aim via diplomatic means rather than by violent ones.

Her husband, Tim, 90, a former sheep farmer and member of the Falklands legislature, who was part of a pre-war delegation to Buenos Aires, called for education of young Argentines.

“They still think the Falklands are theirs,” he said.

School children, the Falklander said, are still taught that the archipelago belongs to the South American country.

As regards a potential deal, Mr Blake could not imagine the British government producing wording that “would encourage invasion”.

Falklands veteran, Gary Clement MBE, 70, who served as a Royal Marine during the war in the Commando Logistics Regiment, said the islands are “under a completely different regime” to the island group in the Indian Ocean.

Falklanders are “only just in debt” and “pretty self-reliant”, he added - and overall “quite capable”.

"We obviously have to get supplies from somewhere, but I'm sure that's not about to stop," Mr Clement said.

But he also warned: "I think politically they [Argentina] are very hot on the heels of anybody that will listen to them

"They spread lies, if you like, about the history of the islands and what have you, and it just seems people listen.

"And the more you shout, you know what it's like, you can get people to listen eventually. So I think that way we need to be very careful.

"And, thankfully, British governments so far have been very much behind the islands."

Jack Ford MLA, the chair of the islands’ Legislative Assembly, said that the Falklands strongly supports self-determination across the world, but it is important to remember that “the situations and the histories are very different”.

He added that developments around Chagos “don’t have any bearing on the Falklands and absolutely do not mean anything’s about to change any time soon”.

Urgent talks were being held between London and Washington “to establish a stable position” on the UK’s deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, a Foreign Office minister said on February 26.

Argentina's President, Javier Milei, has said he is not seeking another conflict with Britain.

He is pursuing a long-term diplomatic strategy to gain sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, with an aim to achieve a peaceful transfer similar to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong.

He told The Telegraph that the archipelago should return to Argentina only through negotiation and when islanders wish.

The President said: “Whatever can be done to improve trade, I will do, taking the geopolitical risks into consideration.”

President Milei admitted to the BBC in 2024 that it could take decades to try to gain sovereignty of the islands from Britain.

He promised a “roadmap” for the territory to become part of Argentina, on the 42nd anniversary of the Falklands War.

The President slammed politicians who “beat their chests demanding sovereignty of the islands, but without any result”.

He added that Britain "might not want to negotiate today", but "at some later point they might want to".

"Many positions have changed over time."

Sir Keir said in his Christmas message to the Falkland Islands: "I’m proud of the bond that we share as one great British family.
And I’m proud of the strong sense of community that unites us all. I know that is a big part of who you are on the Falkland Islands."

He also pledged his "deep and enduring commitment to your right to self-determination and your democratic rights".

The Prime Minister added: "These are rights that my own uncle fought for when he served aboard HMS Antelope in 1982."

Keep up to date with all of Adam's reporting from the Falkland Islands and Argentina over the coming weeks here.