Navy cuts would hinder us in Falklands, says Portsmouth MP
ANGER Protesters burn a British flag outside the British embassy in Buenos Aires to protest against David Camerons comments earlier this month about Argentina acting like a colonial power over the Falkland Islands
PORTSMOUTH North MP Penny Mordaunt has warned the government it can’t rely on America’s help if Argentina started a new war over the Falkland Islands.
As tensions build ahead of the 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, Ms Mordaunt took to the floor of the House of Commons to warn that the government’s decision to axe HMS Ark Royal and the Harrier jump jet fleet has weakened the chance of Britain repeating its 1982 reclamation of the Islands.
Defence cuts mean Royal Navy ships are increasingly sailing with carriers from the US, French and Italian navies in hostile areas such as Libya and the Middle East.
This was the case last Sunday when HMS Argyll sailed through the Strait of Hormuz with the US carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Pointing out America’s neutral stance on the Falklands dispute, Ms Mordaunt said Britain should not expect the same level of protection in the South Atlantic.
She told MPs: ‘When we say we do not need carrier strike until the next decade, what we are actually saying is we need someone else’s.
‘If it were to come to it, one supposes requests for a carrier would fall on deaf ears.’
Without a Royal Navy carrier, it’s feared the Argentine military would have the edge over Britain in battles 300 miles from its shores.
Edward Leigh, who is MP for Gainsborough, told yesterday’s defence debate: ‘If there was to be a war with Iran or Argentina we would not be fighting it in the Channel. We would be fighting it, in the case of Argentina, thousands of miles away from our air defence systems.’
Defence minister Gerald Howarth sought to play down the MPs’ fears.
He said: ‘There is neither the capability or intention of Argentina to repeat the folly of 1982 and the military deterrent we have in place is up to the task.’
He added: ‘Ministers are very seized of this issue.’
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Thursday 24 May 2012
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Comments
There are 7 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
MikeB
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 01:47 PMMs Mordaunt is stating the obvious and should have thought about this scenario before voting and supporting her party's defence cuts. Its to late now.
wizard of oz
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 12:08 PMNo not abuse, just frustration at your inability to put forward a case to support your views based on facts and sourced information .
Tman
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 10:31 AMThen again, if we're talking about "weigh and meaningt" , when the debate resorts to personal comments you know the argument and reasoning can't have been that strong in the first place.
wizard of oz
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 06:40 PMTman read The Military Balance 2011 by The International Institute For Strategic Studies and given your opinion on the current state of the Argentine military forces. I believe it is available at Portsmouth Central library in the reference section....Hopefully this wil give your posts some weigh and meaningt, rather the musings of a bitter old man.
nmichael
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 03:52 PMIt is in the uk's interest to keep its carrier escort experience and that is good reason to escort foreign carriers but this is THE NEWS and to include positive facts is not THE NEWS style.
Tman
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 03:13 PMAll the Rear Admiral ABs who post on here will tell you it's just sabre-rattling by a country owning nothing more than three dinghies and a broken down jet as armed services, although with enough bluff and bluster even that will need to needless deaths on both sides. US help? That's a sick joke in itself.
Le Critique
Friday, January 27, 2012 at 02:28 PMI've been saying writing this for a long time. All the political BS in the world is no substitute for having a strong enough capability to defend our territories. You wonder exactly how things would work out if the Argies decided to try their luck again.
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