Britons back Falklands action: poll

Mar 9 2013

Most British adults believe the Government should be ready to consider military action in the face of an invasion threat to the Falkland Islands, according to a study.

Ahead of a referendum next week asking islanders if they want the area to remain a British overseas territory, an opinion poll found that 77% of UK voters believe the future of the Falklands should be decided by those who live there.

More than half of those questioned for the ComRes poll for ITV News disagreed with suggestions that it was not Britain's job to defend the islands.

The research also found six in 10 adults believed the UK should keep all options - including the possibility of military action - open when deciding how to respond to a threat of invasion while just 16% disagreed and 24% did not know.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has ramped up the rhetoric over the sovereignty of the islands, which her nation calls Las Malvinas, in recent months.

Authorities in Port Stanley hope the upcoming vote will send a clear message to Argentina that residents wish to remain British.