Four years before the Falklands War British leaders attempted to cover up an Argentine invasion onto the disputed islands.Top secret British documents from 1978 were declassified this week and painted a picture of a weak British defense. "Heaven help us if there is a war!" exclaimed then-prime minister James Callaghan whose government worried over possible Soviet attacks and dropped the ball on building Iranian unrest.
In early 1978, British authorities found out that Argentina established a secret military base on a “barren, uninhabited dependency” near the Falklands. British officials worried that word of the fake “scientific” base would leak out, upset residents on the Falklands, and derail sovereignty negotiations between Britain and Argentina.
As The Telegraph noted:
David Owen, James Callaghan's Foreign Secretary, feared that revelations about what he accepted was a "violation of British sovereignty" on Southern Thule would derail talks between the two countries about the future control of the Falklands themselves…The fake scientific base would remain in Argentine control until the British took over as part of the Falklands War in 1982. Argentine relations with Britain have gradually improved though diplomatic problems have continued over renewed calls of argentine sovereignty to the Falklands.
"We were concerned that the Argentine base on Southern Thule would become public knowledge," Lord Owen told the embassy in Buenos Aires on February 17, following the three-day talks…
"In the event of a leak … the British Government would need to make it clear publicly that they had protested to Argentina about a violation of British sovereignty.
Image- BBC News (One of the recently declassified British National Archive documents)
Online Sources- Bloomberg, Guardian UK, The Telegraph, Voice of America
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