The Irish question

Apparently Gibraltar has been cast adrift!

and the Malvinas?

I kept asking that jura2 - and the Falklands etc but no-one listened, no-one answered.

The Falklands will come under particular threat once and if we decide to go WTO

Imagine Trump will ask to have it as strategic launchpad in exchange for any deal. On our own- there is no way we could keep it and the Argentinians are waiting for us to be too weak...

Isn't trump wanting to take over Antarctica oil rights?

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Well we’ve got that new £3bn aircraft carrier with no aircraft that’s not finished yet just to show that we’re a force to be reckoned with.

I might get that deleted as I don't usually swear

Oh goodness, surely not ?

No you won’t jalima I have said that and it hasn’t got zapped. And in the circumstances far worse language would be excusable.

Am curious jura2 who do you think did all the fighting to protect the interests of all the people who live on the Falkland Islands ( only the Argentinians call the islands The Malvinas) ? Do you actually know?

From memory was it not that great EU supporter Mrs T? Maybe that's another reason why she was pro Europe; realised we were stronger being part of something so much bigger?

Oh yes Lemongrove, I lived in the UK during the whole thing and long before and after. But we were stronger then and we had a lot of support - my point is, we are no longer, and we do not have any longer - unless Trump wants access to it for strategic reasons. I saw the injured- the dead, on both sides- and the dreadful sinking of the Belgrano with mass loss of life.

But if you really do believe that that war was to protect the very few people who live on the Falklands- you are beyond naïve.

I thought it was to keep a foothold in the area because of the mineral rights in Antarctica.
At one time it was my brother's feet, and my brother-in-law's feet.

That too - it is complicated. But little of it was about protecting the British Falklanders.

My brother lived in Argentina for many years- his wife Argentine, and his daughter, not 40- nearly became one of the stolen babies - but that is another story.

now 40

But we were stronger then and we had a lot of support

Well, I can think of France and Chile but who else?

I will never forget it either and saw Simon Weston recently.

I saw the injured- the dead, on both sides- and the dreadful sinking of the Belgrano with mass loss of life.
Just on the news? Or did you have someone who was involved jura2?

just on the news, documentaries - fortunately for me.

But I followed it from news and documentaries from outside the UK - which looked at the issues from a very different angle. History can look very different depending on who tells it.

And yes, Simon Weston is an incredible and courageous man indeed, a hero.

"We could hear the screams and cries for help of men injured and trapped in lower decks. It was a terrible sound.

"By the time we reached the deck, it was clear the boat was going to capsize and the captain gave the order to evacuate.

"The lifeboats were already in the water. There was no time to think, I just let myself down a rope and then jumped into the ocean. We were being lashed by the winds, but somehow I managed to struggle into one of the lifeboats.

"The water was so cold that you could only last a few minutes at most in it.

"We were trying to paddle away, but the wind was pushing us back towards the sinking boat. If we'd got too close, we'd have been sucked down with it.

"There were lots of men screaming in the water. Some of them had horrific burns. We pulled in those that we could reach, but it was dreadful to watch others go under the water."

There may have been other reasons in the mix, but the people of the Falkland Islands appealed directly to us for help, and it was answered.No matter how far the Falklands are, the people are from British stock and feel as British as anybody here.Plus the islands belong to us.

Just wonder what will happen to Gibraltar where people wanted to stay in the EU but don't want Spain as their country. They feel they are British as well.

Oh dear, there could still be people, even some on here, trying to come to terms with that jura2

I knew a Falkland Islander who lived here, yes she was very staunchly British as well.
And as for the Gibraltar situation, that is very worrying too.

These far flung outposts are a relic of the empire we can’t just cling onto them with threats of military invasion. We’ve got the smallest army and navy in history now. I can’t imagine why anyone wants to live in the Falklands and as for Gibraltar - it’s biggest industry is tax avoidance and online gambling, maybe we can reclaim that when we take back control.