Falklands insult
IT is clear that Argentina scored a monumental own goal with the tawdry television advert showing an Olympic hopeful training on a Falklands war memorial with the crass tagline: “To compete on British soil, we train on Argentinian soil.”
Not only was this an insult to the memory of those islanders who perished in World War One, but it was symptomatic of a government in Buenos Aires that relies upon sabre-rattling because of its declining influence.
Foreign Secretary William Hague was right to dismiss this exercise as a stunt. It is also important that Argentina competes in the Olympics – striking them off the 2012 guest list will be an unhelpful distraction when the Games should be about showing the power of sport as an unifying force for good.
That said, this disgraceful episode is a reminder that this Government’s defence cuts must not jeopardise the future security of the Falklands.