The Falkland Islands have been left without the protection of a British frigate or destroyer for the first time since the conflict in 1982, The Independent can reveal.
The Royal Navy has been committed to providing a “permanent presence” of a major warship in the South Atlantic since a naval taskforce liberated the Falkland Islands from Argentinian occupation 34 years ago.
However a manpower crisis, a need to deploy vessels to monitor Russian naval movements closer to home and a string of engine problems with the Royal Navy’s much-vaunted Type 45 destroyers has meant that no warship has been dispatched to the South Atlantic since a frigate returned from the region in November 2015.
Emily Thornberry, the shadow Defence Secretary, labelled the situation as “unacceptable” and demanded that the Ministry of Defence “immediately” dispatch a warship to the region.
She said: “In one area after another we have seen the impact of the savage cuts made to our armed forces since David Cameron came to office, but even by those low standards, it is unacceptable that the government is failing to provide the protection for the Falkland Islands that has been promised, and that that Islands have a right to expect as British citizens. The Ministry of Defence must rectify the situation immediately.”
The row over the Royal Navy’s role in South Atlantic also risked embarrassing the Prime Minster as it comes days after he was forced to dismiss Argentinian claims to water surrounding the Falkland Islands.
On Tuesday David Cameron vowed to defend the islander’s rights after a United Nations commission recommend that Argentina’s maritime territory should be expanded by 35 per cent to surround the islands.
Ministers also face further embarrassment as it has also emerged that a manpower shortage and technical problems with the Royal Navy’s latest advanced destroyers has forced naval commanders to confine several warship to port. The Independent can reveal that these include Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, which has been relegated to serving as a training ship, and the frigate HMS Lancaster both of which are docked in Portsmouth.
