LIZ TRUSS will not be celebrating today’s 40th anniversary of the liberation of the Falkland Islands.
Instead, she will focus on “the legacy” of the 255 British dead military personnel.
“They were servicemen and women who gave their lives and we should pay respect that they gave their lives fighting for the self-determination of the sovereign islands,” says the Foreign Secretary.
Four decades on from the 74-day conflict in the South Atlantic, Truss sees parallels between Argentina’s bloody land grab in 1982 and the conflict raging in modern Europe.
She says: “What we have seen with the Russia and Ukraine crisis is the continued threat to sovereignty by malign actors and the importance of standing up for self-determination.”
But there are “new threats” emerging too, not least from China, which in April voiced support for Argentina’s discredited claim on the tiny landmass that is home to just 3,400 islanders.
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“My message to China is that we are fully committed to the sovereignty and self-determination of the Falkland Islands,” she said.
“And more broadly: One of the many reasons it’s so important Vladimir Putin loses in Ukraine is the vital importance of countries’ sovereignty and the rules-based global order where that should be respected.”
Because of the political turmoil in London, we are not in Port Stanley today but instead sitting 7,800 miles away in the Foreign Secretary’s cavernous Whitehall HQ.
Speaking to Trending In The News in the office from which her predecessor Lord Carrington resigned after failing to foresee the Argie invasion in April 1982, Truss is determined Britain will not be caught short again.
Locked in a battle with the Treasury for an increase in defence and security spending, she insists: “There are very real issues we face and I need to be sure I’ve got the best possible team to do that.”
But she is clear mistakes were made with Russia too, with the UK turning a blind eye to Putin for too long.
“We must never get into the state we were in of becoming dependent on Russian oil and gas. That can’t happen again.”
‘BRITAIN’S INTERESTS’
But better late than never, she insists: “We will not stop supporting Ukraine until Russia is pushed out of Ukraine.
“Now is not the time to give up or to have fatigue. Now is the time to double down.”
Asked what that looks like beyond tough words, Truss hits back: “I mean do more on weapons and sanctions to support the Ukrainian people. And not get into language about compromises.”
But all of that comes at a cost. Truss recently rejected Treasury orders to slash 900 staff, with a demand for 1,000 diplomats and spies instead.
And it’s clear the battle behind the scenes in Whitehall is ongoing from her curt insistence: “I’m not getting into my internal discussions with the Treasury.”
In a clear plea for cash, Truss warns: “I need to make sure, as Foreign Secretary, I have got the best players on the pitch, dealing with that internationally.
“I’m focused on making sure I’ve got the best people doing the work around the world to protect Britain’s security and Britain’s interests.” And that’s not the only battle Truss is having at home.
While the nation will come together today to remember the Falklands dead, some on the Left of British politics side with Argentina and insist on calling the islands the Malvinas.
Asked if those people annoy her, she seethes: “There is still a strand of thinking in Britain which doesn’t like our country very much.”
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And she says that goes beyond the Falklands issue: “You can see this in all kinds of elements of policy. You know, often the siding with the EU in any possible dispute.
“It doesn’t represent what the majority of people in this country think.”
