Falkland Islands

Debate between Baroness Winterton of Doncaster and Lord Purvis of Tweed

Monday 7th September 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

I also welcome the Minister to her brief. I should perhaps declare I was on that visit too, but I saw nothing untoward between the Minister and the noble Lord, Lord Callanan. This is also my first opportunity—since she is here—to thank the noble Baroness, Lady Chapman, for her service as Minister as well.

I have had the privilege of visiting the Falkland Islands and I will relay to the House what I said to the Falkland Islanders. As far as these Benches are concerned, sovereignty has been, is and always will be in the hands of the Falkland Islanders themselves; sovereignty should be under no question whatever.

There will be obvious concern among the islanders that, as a result of what President Trump has been saying, there could be question marks over the health arrangements with our relationship with Chile and Uruguay; there could be concerns over the integrity of the territorial waters, which have seen almost-ingressions by foreign-flagged vessels from China; and there could be question marks over the lifeline satellite communication services. So can the Minister reassure not only this House but the islanders themselves that, when we send very strong signals to our closest ally in the White House, all those services are part of sovereignty too.

[Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Lab)]

First, let me thank the noble Lord for his kind words and fond memories of the CPA visit. I also echo what he said about my noble friend Lady Chapman.

With regard to the US, I assure him that we, of course, engage regularly with the US on a range of foreign policy issues. I am sure he will understand that I cannot give a running commentary on all of our engagement with the US, but it is our closest ally. We engage on a number of issues, including this one, and of course I take on board the points that he has made about the areas that may be of particular concern to the Falkland Islanders.