The Argentine government has intensified its campaign to reclaim the islands, which Buenos Aires calls Las Malvinas, as a row over offshore oil exploration threatens to deepen tensions with Britain.
Argentina’s President Javier Milei (Image: Getty)
Argentina has claimed it must recover the Falkland Islands because Britain is allegedly being “colonised by Islam”, in a provocative intervention by a key adviser to President Javier Milei. Santiago Caputo, one of the Argentine president’s closest political confidantes, made the extraordinary claim in a lengthy post on X, arguing that Britain’s supposed religious transformation posed a threat to Western civilisation.
His comments were subsequently shared by Mr Milei, giving further prominence to the inflammatory remarks amid an escalating diplomatic dispute between Buenos Aires and London over the South Atlantic islands. Mr Caputo wrote: “Seeing the United Kingdom being colonised by Islam is not only an imminent risk to the cause of the entire West, but also a historical tragedy for those of us who defend the ideas of freedom.”
He added: “This is another reason why Argentina must project itself firmly into the South Atlantic and recover the Falkland Islands.”
The adviser argued that the strategic importance of the South Atlantic would increase over the coming decades, warning that the West could not allow an Islamic state to gain influence in the region.
He said: “Recovering the Falklands is not just a national cause. It is a cause of the West.”
Mr Caputo’s intervention was prompted by footage of Labour MP Sagal Abdi-Wali taking her oath in the House of Commons with her hand on the Koran, reported Clarin.
The legislator, who was born in Somalia and came to Britain as a child, was elected to represent Holborn and St Pancras following a by-election.
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The parliamentary ceremony is a recognised procedure, with MPs able to swear an oath using a religious text or make a non-religious affirmation.
However, the footage was used by Argentine commentator Javier Negre to argue that Britain was undergoing “Islamisation”. Mr Caputo subsequently amplified the claim, linking the presence of Muslims in British public life to Argentina’s longstanding demand for sovereignty over the Falklands.
The remarks come at a particularly sensitive moment in relations between the two countries.
The Argentine government has intensified its campaign to reclaim the islands, which Buenos Aires calls Las Malvinas, as a row over offshore oil exploration threatens to deepen tensions with Britain.
Argentina has also pursued legal action over the development of the Sea Lion oilfield north of the islands.
The £1.6billion project, led by Israeli firm Navitas Petroleum and British company Rockhopper Exploration, is expected to begin production in 2028. Argentina argues that the development infringes its sovereign rights, while Britain maintains that the project is lawful.
The latest intervention adds a religious and ideological dimension to the long-running sovereignty dispute.
Mr Caputo portrayed Britain as a historic foundation of Western civilisation, citing the Magna Carta, political philosophers John Locke and Adam Smith, and scientists including Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.
He then argued that the alleged spread of Islam threatened the values he claimed Britain had helped establish.
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His post was shared by Mr Milei, who has made recovering the Falklands a priority of his administration while pursuing diplomatic and legal pressure rather than military action.
Britain has controlled the islands since 1833, although Argentina continues to claim sovereignty. The dispute led to war in 1982, when Argentine forces invaded and British troops were sent to retake the territory.
The 74-day conflict ended in Argentine surrender, with 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British service personnel and three islanders killed.
The islands remain a British Overseas Territory, with their own elected government. In a 2013 referendum, 99.8 % of participating voters backed remaining under British rule, a result London cites in defending the islanders’ right to self-determination. Argentina rejected the vote.
Mr Caputo’s comments have not changed the islands’ status, but they underline the increasingly combative tone of Argentina’s campaign as the two countries clash over sovereignty and valuable offshore resources.
Britons warned of huge ‘new tax’ if UK rejoins EU – ‘billions back to Brussels’
A push to reverse Brexit is gaining momentum, but it comes at a high cost.
Andy Burnham is preparing for a UK-EU summit next month (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Britain will have to make radically greater payments into the European Union if the country rejoins with the bill potentially hitting £41billion, according to a eurosceptic think tank. The Bow Group has calculated the UK gross contribution could range from £28billion to £41billion – much more than the £14.4billion paid in 2019. This is based on the assumption there is no possibility the EU would agree to restore the permanent “rebate” negotiated by Margaret Thatcher.
Her former aide Lord Redwood, warned: “The UK would need to impose a large new tax; we cannot afford to go in. We would worry markets more with yet more borrowing. The last thing we need is yet more spending and laws from Brussels.”
According to the House of Commons Library, in 2016 – the year Britons voted to leave the EU – the UK made a gross contribution to the EU Budget of £13.1billion and a net contribution of £9.6billion.
Ben Harris-Quinney, who chairs the Bow Group, said: “Despite promises to accept Brexit the Labour party now seems to be set on the path of quietly taking Britain back into the EU. It’s important that the British public understands that doing so would be far more costly than our previous membership, to say nothing of a likely requirement to join the euro, far greater regulation, and further decades of uncontrolled borders.”
Eurosceptics argue the EU wants the UK to return to boost the finances of the bloc. When Czech PM Andrej Babis was asked if would support the return of Britain to the EU, he said: “Yes of course. We need more money.”
Conservative shadow foreign minister Wendy Morton pointed to his words, saying: “Andy Burnham can’t find the cash to fund our defence, yet he seems comfortable with the idea of handing over billions to Brussels. Instead of trying to turn back the clock to 2016, he should focus on a plan for taking the country forward.”
David Campbell Bannerman fiercely opposes EU re-entry (Image: Paul Marriott)
A Reform UK spokesman warned: “Andy Burnham’s plan to reopen the divisions of the Brexit debate will not only betray the 17.4 million people who voted for Brexit, but will also cost this country dearly. Shackling us to a crumbling bloc whose share of the global economy is rapidly declining will be an economic disaster for Britain, forcing us to become a rule-taker yet again and threatening £164billion worth of post-Brexit trade agreements.”
However, a spokesperson for the pro-EU group Best for Britain said it was “unlikely” the UK could not get “some for of rebate”, adding: “It isn’t an accurate calculation of the cost to the taxpayer, and ignores the £92billion GDP growth to our economy that will be gained from EU membership. A gross calculation of what the UK might have to pay as an EU member is like submitting a tax return without any business expenses, or claiming that your turnover is net profit. But voters facing increased living costs, and businesses swamped by red tape, will be relieved to hear that pro-Brexit voices are finally taking the prospect of UK membership of the EU seriously.”
David Campbell Bannerman, a former MEP who served as deputy leader of UKIP insisted that EU re-entry was “totally unaffordable”. He said: “We would be mad to rejoin and anyone trying to rejoin should be prosecuted for misconduct in public office.”
A Government spokesperson said: “These figures are completely speculative. We are building an ambitious, close relationship with the EU that will strengthen our economy and create more opportunities for young people and communities across the whole UK.”