While Sir Keir Starmer and outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak went tête-à-tête in today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr S is rather more intrigued by the Prime Minister’s response to a question from the Lib Dems. Sir Ed Davey quizzed Starmer today on the British overseas territories – asking the PM whether he could ‘ensure that British citizens, fishing off the Falklands, can sail proudly under the Union Jack’.
Fast on his feet, Sir Keir told the Commons solemnly: ‘My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands.’ Going on he insisted: ‘They are British and they will remain British.’ Strong stuff.
But grave though Starmer’s assertion is, Steerpike was a little confused by the wording of the Prime Minister’s claim. After all, no British vessels were actually torpedoed in the Falklands War. In fact, the only ship to be sank by a torpedo during the conflict was the Belgrano – an Argentine boat sunk by the British submarine HMS Conqueror in 1982.
Instead, according to No. 10, it transpires that Starmer meant his uncle’s ship was bombed – as he was referring to the sinking of British frigate HMS Antelope. Writing in the Telegraph last year, the now-Prime Minister explained it all a little better. Lambasting the ‘ferocity’ of the attack by Argentine bombers, it transpires that Sir Keir’s uncle very luckily survived the blast on shores that later became known as ‘Bomb Alley’. In the rather prescient piece, Starmer lauded the ‘extraordinary bravery and sacrifice of our Armed Forces’, backing up his claim today that the Falklands – and indeed Gibraltar – will remain as British overseas territories.
Davey’s question comes after the Prime Minister’s government announced on Thursday it would be ceding sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The Labour lot sparked outrage across the nation, with politicians and pundits alike scratching their heads over the decision to hand over strategically significant land. It later transpired that Starmer’s close friend Philippe Sands KC happens to be Mauritius’ chief legal adviser – as well as a longtime campaigner for the country to control the land. The plot thickens…
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