Sir Keir’s curious Falklands claim

While Sir Keir Starmer and outgoing Tory leader Rishi Sunak went tête-à-tête in today’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr S is rather more intrigued by the Prime Minister’s response to a question from the Lib Dems. Sir Ed Davey quizzed Starmer today on the British overseas territories – asking the PM whether he could ‘ensure that British citizens, fishing off the Falklands, can sail proudly under the Union Jack’.

Fast on his feet, Sir Keir told the Commons solemnly: ‘My uncle nearly lost his life when his ship was torpedoed defending the Falklands.’ Going on he insisted: ‘They are British and they will remain British.’ Strong stuff.

But grave though Starmer’s assertion is, Steerpike was a little confused by the wording of the Prime Minister’s claim. After all, no British vessels were actually torpedoed in the Falklands War. In fact, the only ship to be sank by a torpedo during the conflict was the Belgrano – an Argentine boat sunk by the British submarine HMS Conqueror in 1982.