UK will fight for the Falklands, says David Cameron

David Cameron has insisted Britain will fight to keep the Falklands as Argentina ramps up the rhetoric against UK sovereignty.

The prime minister said the government's resolve was "extremely strong" and stressed the islands' military defences, days after Argentina's president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner accused Britain of colonialism.

Fernández claimed her country had been forcibly stripped of "Las Malvinas" in an open letter to Cameron, which was printed as an advertisement in the Guardian on Thursday.

Cameron told BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I get regular reports on this entire issue because I want to know that our defences are strong, our resolve is extremely strong."

Asked if Britain would fight to keep the islands, he said: "Of course we would and we have strong defences in place on the Falkland islands, that is absolutely key, that we have fast jets stationed there, we have troops stationed on the Falklands."

Cameron has rejected talks with Argentina unless people in the Falklands want them. He said last week: "Whenever they have been asked their opinion, they have said they want to retain their current status with the UK. They are holding a referendum this year and I hope the president of Argentina will listen to that referendum and recognise it is for the Falkland islanders to choose their future, and for as long as they choose to stay with the UK they have my 100% backing."

The islanders are due to vote in a March referendum, which is expected to give overwhelming backing for the territory to remain British.

Cameron also told Marr the UK still had one of the top five defence budgets in the world despite cuts to its armed forces.