A SCOTS retired marine commander who helped lead troops to victory in the Falklands said Britain would be unable to defend the islands if the conflict re-erupted today.
Brigadier Ian Gardiner, who commanded a Royal Marines rifle company during the 1982 Falklands War, said that while he believed renewed claims of sovereignty by Argentina over the islands amounted to nothing more than "gobbing off", he doubted Britain's ability to resist an attack.
He said: "I don't believe the Argentines have the will or the capability to capture the islands. But if they did, I don't believe we have the means to recapture them."
Brigadier Gardiner is delivering the autumn lecture for Combat Stress – the charity that supports war veterans with mental health problems – in Edinburgh tonight.
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