Falklands Tension Soars as MPs Plan to Fly out

MPs on the defence select committee will be visiting the Falkland Islands just weeks after Prince William's presence was described as an "act of provocation" by the Argentine government.

Buenos Aires reacted angrily to the committee announcement that it would send a delegation to the disputed islands just weeks before the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War.

The committee will be visiting military facilities and finding out "first-hand what taxpayers' money is being spent on and what it is doing", said a Whitehall spokesman.

Committee member Julian Brazier told the BBC: "We have had a visit to the Falklands planned for some time.

"It's a location where there are British troops and as such it's an appropriate place for the select committee to visit. It's several years since our last visit, but there's no specific date in the diary."

Juan Mendicino, who represents Argentinian veterans of the war, told the Times: "Argentina does not want war. It wants peace and the return of our islands through diplomatic negotiation. But the only thing that the English think about is war.

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"We don't want visitors from your parliament. We want the UN to intervene as it has done in disputes across the world."

The MPs' visit follows Prince William's tour of the islands as a search-and-rescue pilot and the expected arrival of HMS Dauntless in Falkland waters.

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