Argentina told to listen to the people of the Falkland islands

DAVID Cameron has fired a broadside at Argentina, accusing the country of colonialism over the Falklands and protectionism in world trade.

The Prime Minister said yesterday that he would use the opportunity presented by the G20 summit in Mexico to tell Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to her face that she should listen to the people of the Falklands when they say they want to remain British. He singled out Argentina for criticism for protectionist trade measures which he identified as one of the five key threats to the world economy.

Relations between Britain and Argentina are in the deep freeze after Buenos Aires tried to use the 30th anniversary of the Falklands War to revive its claim on the islands it knows as the Malvinas.

CRAIG BROWN