Philip Hammond has issued a firm hands-off warning to Argentina by insisting the government will "never sell out" the Falkland Islands.
The Foreign Secretary insisted the "bullying and harassment" against the islanders must stop, adding it is counter-productive and "shameful".
He also warned Spain against the "unlawful and inexcusable" violations of Gibraltar's territorial waters as he claimed Labour in government under Jeremy Corbyn would risk the sovereignty of Britain's overseas territories.
Speaking in Manchester at the Tory conference, Mr Hammond said the right to self-determination is being challenged not only in eastern Europe and the Middle East, but also near Gibraltar and in the South Atlantic.
He told delegates: "Let me say clearly to our Spanish friends - we agree on many things and we want to work with you in the many areas where our interests coincide.
"But violations of Gibraltar's territorial waters by Spanish state vessels are unlawful and inexcusable. The people of Gibraltar have an inviolable right to remain British.
"We will maintain that right, for as long as they wish us to."
He added: "While I'm speaking Spanish, let me clarify something for president Kirchner of Argentina - whatever the Labour leader says, this Conservative government will never sell out the Falkland Islanders."
Mr Hammond recalled how the Falkland Islanders voted unanimously - 99.8% on a turnout of more than 90% - to remain British in a recent referendum.
He joked: "A free and fair election with a majority that would make (Russian president Vladimir) Putin.
"The bullying and harassment to which the islanders continue to be subjected is shameful - it's counter-productive, it's wrong and it must stop.
"The Falkland Islanders have every right to develop their economy."
Ashley Fox, leader of the Conservative MEPs in the European Parliament, who also represents the South West of England and Gibraltar, told delegates: "Let us send out a clear and resolute message today to the people of Gibraltar - as long as you want to be British, no matter what intimidation, bullying and threats you may face, we will stand by you, we will defend you; the Conservatives will never betray you."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel