REVEALED: How Argentina tried to convince the UK to give up the Falklands in secret talks

ARGENTINA attempted to prise control of the Falkland Islands from the UK by proposing the territory become independent in secret talks with senior British cabinet ministers, it has emerged.

Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who served as foreign secretary in the 1990s, revealed how he held discussions with Argentine officials over the future of the Falklands.

A delegation from Buenos Aires proposed that the islands "should cease to be a British colony but not become part of Argentina", in effect making them an independent territory.

According to Sir Malcolm, who launched his memoirs, Power and Pragmatism, this week, Argentina attempted to convince the British government of their plan with a promise that the UK would remain responsible for the islands if there were any hostilities.

However the talks fell apart after British officials spotted a demand for an Argentinian vice-governor, which would have meant sharing sovereignty, in the "small print" of the deal.

Sir Malcolm explained: "We said 'Sorry, that's not going to happen'."

Argentina's foreign minister said last month that recovering sovereignty of the Falkland Islands remains a "permanent and unrelinquished" objective of his country.

Susana Malcorra said: "The passing of time has not eroded the validity of our claim, nor the strength of our conviction that this protracted sovereignty dispute must be solved through negotiations between the two parties involved."

The UK continues to reject any discussion over sovereignty saying it is up to the islanders to decide.

The British Mission to the UN said: "The 2013 referendum — in which 99.8% of those who voted wanted to maintain their current status — sent a clear message that the people of the islands do not want dialogue on sovereignty.

"Argentina should respect those wishes."

Speaking at a UN summit, Mike Summers, a member of the Falkland Islands government legislative assembly, said that islanders are happy with the current situation.

He said: "Falkland Islanders are comfortable with the constitutional relationship we have with the United Kingdom.

"We have a right to move away from it if we so wished, but there is no current wish to do so."