We’ve refrained so far from referring to ‘sausagegate’ in these pages. After all, anyone can make a mistake. Many of us are old enough to remember 1980 when the SAS (Sausage Alert Service) rescued the sausages from the grip of the terrorists during the Iranian Embassy siege. An easy mistake to make Sir Keir.
But seriously, it is hard to contain one’s mirth. ‘Release the sausages’ must be one of the biggest keynote speech gaffes by any politician, anywhere, ever. Yet the perpetrator blunders on.
And he’s at it again. Now he has holed his reputation below the waterline by ‘misspeaking’ about his uncle who served in the South Atlantic during the Falklands War. Claiming that his uncle had been torpedoed, the PM cited this as his reason for not being in favour of giving back the Falklands to the Argentinians.
Two points arise. First, the only ship torpedoed in the Falklands was Argentinian. The Belgrano was sunk, but its name lives on because it was technically outside the zone of hostilities and heading away (running away?) from battle. Brit-haters United claim it was a war crime. But had they been there, and the fully armed Belgrano had turned round and released its load at them, they might think differently.
In any case, no British ship was torpedoed and Starmer’s uncle was serving on HMS Antelope which was bombed by the Argentinians. He managed to evacuate before, what had been up to that point an unexploded 1000-pound bomb, exploded; killing the bomb disposal operative working on it. The ship went down.
OK, Starmer got the technicalities wrong in the heat of a debate and, I guess, it matters not a great deal if the bomb that blows you up comes from above or below. A bomb is a bomb. According to reports ‘Number 10 had to act’ to correct Sir Keir’s mistake, without making him look like an even bigger Charlie than he already looks. The fact he dropped another clanger didn’t seem like such a big deal to me.
On the other hand, what does seem like a big deal is the fact he referenced it at all. What was he trying to achieve? Surely, the issue of whether the Falklands are returned (heaven forbid) to the Argentinians is a matter of right or wrong based on our sovereignty and the citizenship of the residents.
On both those counts it would be wrong to hand them back, and it is a relief to know that there are no such plans. But why is it made any more right by the fact that the PM’s uncle happened to be in the right place but at the worst possible time? Methinks he was trying a tad too hard, endeavouring to sound like a loyal Brit whose family had a proud military history. And like most of these devices, especially in the hands of one as inept as our glorious leader, it backfired.
And what about the Chagos Islands which were the cause of all these family reminiscences? Hands up if you had ever heard of them…I thought so. Of course, we all know about the (so that’s Chagos!) Deigo Garcia base which was built in the 1970s. Purportedly a joint effort and used by the USA, the UK and Australia, let’s just call it what it is: American.
At the behest of Harold Wilson, the Chagossians were chased off to make way for the US base. Their pets were rounded up and gassed and they were shipped off to Mauritius where they did not want to go and where they were not welcome. They were granted British citizenship and many thousands came. But I guess that many of us have yet to meet one; I certainly never have. They seem like a most unfortunate people.
Fears are that now Chagos is in the hands of the Mauritians, who are very close to China, that the Chinese will want to get their hands on it for military purposes. Of course, with the American Navy already there, they’ll have a fight on their hands. Which is a worrying prospect.
What is also worrying is that it transpires we handed over Chagos at the behest of the United States. Quite why the United States would want us to do that in favour of a Chinese ally, given their own interest in the territory, is hard to fathom. I am sure that we are making a case to them right now for why Peurto Rico should be given to the Dominican Republic or Cuba. After all, we have such a ‘special relationship’.
Roger Watson is a retired academic, editor and writer. He is a columnist with Unity News Network and writes regularly for a range of conservative journals including The Salisbury Review and The European Conservative. He has travelled and worked extensively in the Far East and the Middle East. He lives in Kingston upon Hull, UK.
If you enjoy The New Conservative and would like to support our work, please consider buying us a coffee or sharing this piece with your friends – it would really help to keep us going. Thank you!
The best way to inculcate more honesty in British establishment parties ( Starmer is no worse a liar than Sunak, Bunter, May, Cameron and Blair et al) is to stop voting for them and let them know loud and clear the British people are no longer going to play musical chair establishment party voting and that we all know they are all taking their orders from the same unelected people.
He is worse. He pretends to be so pious and holier-than-thou, then lies his a$$ off, both before the GE and still. Every time I see his face and hear his smarmy voice, I feel sick.
As you say, anyone can make a mistake, but you really should know better than to unironically refer to ‘giving the Falklands back to the Argentinians.’ We didn’t take the Falklands from them, whatever they imagine.
Love the picture. I know it’s a serious subject, but I didn’t stop laughing for a week after ‘Sausagegate’. Priceless.