Argentina told it must pay back £45 million UK loans that were partly used to fund Falklands invasion
Britain wants Argentina to pay back £45 million in loans that the country's former military junta used to fund equipment that was later used in the invasion of the Falkland Islands.
The debt has been inherited by UK Export Finance, an arm of Vince Cable's business department. (Right) Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner Photo:
PA/AFP/Getty Images
7:20AM BST 10 Apr 2012
The demand comes amid continued tensions between London and Buenos Aires around the 30th anniversary of the war over the South Atlantic territory.
Details of the loans, uncovered by a campaign group, showed how Argentina's government borrowed the money in 1979. It was partly spent on equipment used to seize the islands three years later, before they were recaptured by Britain.
The South American country later ran into financial crisis and failed to repay loans - including those to British exporters underwritten by the UK Government.
Now the debt has been inherited by UK Export Finance, an arm of Vince Cable's business department - which says it has "no plans to offer debt forgiveness".
Argentina had used the money to buy two Type 42 destroyers, which were deployed during the invasion as well as two Lynx helicopters, one of which was among the first to arrive on the islands after the assault was launched, the Daily Mail reported.
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The details were discovered from the National Archives by pressure group the Jubilee Debt Campaign - which says countries should not have to repay money that was lent by Britain to their former dictators and is calling on Mr Cable to cancel Argentina's debt.
Documents uncovered by the group show how then Labour foreign secretary David Owen signed off the loans despite raising doubts about how they could fund arms sales to a regime with a bad human rights record which could "come close to a confrontation with us over the Falklands".
The Jubilee Debt Campaign is saying that Mr Cable should stick to a Liberal Democrat pledge "to rule invalid loans recklessly given to dictators".
Nick Dearden, director of the campaign, said: "Lending the military junta money to buy British weapons was illegitimate and odious."
But a spokesman for the business department said: "The Government has no plans to offer debt forgiveness."
He said that if Argentina required "further debt relief" it should approach the Paris Club, an intergovernmental body that deals with such issues.
Tensions over the Falklands have flared up recently, with Argentine president Cristina Kirchner last week accusing Britain of being "colonialist" and claiming it was "ridiculous and absurd" that the UK retained control of the islands.
David Cameron has said the territory will remain British as long as its 3,000 inhabitants wish.
Last week, in an article for the Daily Telegraph, Foreign Secretary William Hague accused Argentina of intimidating, harrassing and threatening islanders and said its policy towards the Falklands was "deeply regrettable".
