New Belgrano theory

Britain's decision to sink Argentina's Belgrano cruiser during the Falklands war was a military one and not a political move by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a new official history of the 1982 conflict argues.

It was argued at the time that Thatcher ordered the sinking, with the loss of 321 Argentinian lives, to stop a peace plan.

But in The Official History of the Falklands Campaign, historian Lawrence Freedman said the decision resulted from the fact Britain felt vulnerable to an Argentine attack. He noted Britain would have preferred to have sunk an aircraft carrier but had been unable to find one.