Keir Starmer says his uncle nearly died defending Falklands - 'it's personal to me'

Keir Starmer told the House of Commons at PMQs that the Falklands 'are British and will remain British' as he revealed his uncle fought to defend the isles in the war with Argentina

Keir Starmer has revealed his uncle nearly died defending the Falkland Islands - telling MPs "it's personal to me".

The Prime Minister said the isles "are British and will remain British" as he faced the Commons at PMQs. Argentina has ramped up demands for the UK to cede the territory after the Government confirmed it was handing the Chagos Islands over to Mauritius.

But Mr Starmer ruled out any concessions - and said Spain's claim on Gibraltar will also be knocked back. He told the House: "My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands. They are British and will remain British. The sovereignty of Gibraltar is equally not to be negotiated."

He went on: "I'm very, very clear about the Falklands. It's personal for me." His relative was among more than 25,000 British personnel who served in the 1982 war with Argentina. 225 did not return from the conflict, while 649 Argentines were killed.

It comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy reassured MPs that the deal with Mauritius "does not signal any change in policy to Britain's other overseas territories".

The Foreign Secretary told the Commons earlier thus week: "British sovereignty on the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar and the sovereign base areas, is not up for negotiation. The situations are not comparable. This has been acknowledged across our overseas territories.

"Fabian Picardo, chief minister for Gibraltar, vocally supported this agreement, stating that there is no possible read across to Gibraltar on the issues of sovereignty. And similarly, the governor of the Falklands has confirmed that the historic context of the Chagos islands and Falklands are very different.

"The Government remains firmly committed to modern partnerships with our overseas territories based on mutual consent."

It comes after Argentina's foreign minister, Diana Mondino, promised "concrete action" to ensure that the Falklands - the British-controlled archipelago that Argentina calls the Malvinas and claims as its own - are handed to Buenos Aires. She said: "Following the path we have already taken, with concrete actions and not empty rhetoric, we will recover full sovereignty over our Malvinas Islands."

Former Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, who is vying to become the next Tory leader, came under fire for criticising the Chagos Islands agreements. He branded it "weak weak weak" even though talks with Mauritius were instigated by him.

A source close to Mr Cleverly said earlier this week: “Ultimately, the direction is set by the prime minister on these matters. [Liz] Truss’s decision surprised many people. These included James Cleverly, who inherited responsibility for the talks when he became foreign secretary and had to make the announcement.”