Havant MP Alan Mak visits the Falklands

A POLITICIAN from Havant has flown out to the Falklands to pay tribute to the 255 British military personnel killed there almost 35 years ago.

By The Newsroom

Published 16th Feb 2017, 05:00 BST

Updated 28th Feb 2017, 12:45 BST

MP Alan Mak has flown to the island to meet the community and discover more about the toll the war took on the small British outpost.

The trip is being organised as part of Mr Mak’s ‘work experience’ with the military, which is aimed at giving MPs a greater understanding about the UK’s armed forces.

As part of the overseas voyage, the Tory Havant MP will visit key battlegrounds and diplomats on the island.

Mr Mak, who left for the island yesterday, described it as an ‘amazing opportunity’, adding he was ‘looking forward to walking in the same footsteps’ of brave British soldiers more than three decades earlier.

Last year, Mr Mak spent time with the Royal Marines in Norway as the navy’s elite troops tackled a major training exercise.

The latest trip comes ahead of the 35th anniversary of the Falklands War, which lasted from April 2 to June 14, 1982.