Pickles flies Falklands flag to mark 30th anniversary of liberation

Many of us have never felt more proud to be British than we did 30 years ago.

Communities Secretary Eric Pickles raised the Falklands flag at the Department for Communities and Local Government in Whitehall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the liberation of the islands.

The Falklands flag is being flown alongside the United Kingdom’s Union flag, which is flown all year round.

It has been decided that flags from some of Britain's 13 other Overseas Territories be flown at different times. They cover 600,000 square miles and are home to 260,000 people – more than Nottingham or Newcastle. The Falkland Islands are made up of over 700 islands with the two largest, West and East Falkland home to around 3,000 people.

Eric says:

“Today, we pay tribute to the bravery of our Armed Forces thirty years ago in liberating the Falklands from totalitarian aggression.

“British forces put their lives on the line to defend British sovereign territory, the British way of life and the rights of British people to determine their own future. This is was a victory both for freedom and the indefatigable spirit of the Islanders.”