Emily Thornberry accuses Michael Fallon of talking 'bollocks' live on the BBC

'You really can't just go around making this stuff up', says Shadow Foreign Secretary

Emily Thornberry accused Defence Secretary Michael Fallon of talking “bollocks” in a fiery debate on Sunday’s Andrew Marr Show.

The Conservative MP said the Shadow Foreign Secretary wanted to renegotiate the future of the Falklands’ sovereignty, a claim which Ms Thornberry strongly rebutted, saying: “That is bollocks. It’s untrue.”

She went on to accuse Mr Fallon of lying to the electorate. “You really can't just go around making this stuff up. There’s an election on and people need to make decisions based on the truth.”

The Falklands archipelago, which lies 300 miles east of Argentina, remains a British overseas territory.

Ms Thornberry had been asked earlier in the programme about how a Labour government would approach the issue of the Falkland Islands.

She said: "There needs to be a future in terms of talking to neighbours of the Falklands... but certainly not undermining the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands."

The Shadow Foreign Secretary landed a further blow on Michael Fallon when she accused him of hypocrisy for his critical stance on Jeremy Corbyn’s alleged support for the Irish Republican Army (IRA).

"I suppose if you judge people by who it is that you spend time with, the question has to be: Do you remember where you were on May 27, 2007?"

When Mr Fallon said he did not, the Labour MP informed him that he was celebrating at a reception the re-election of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, condemned by the international community for attacks on civilians during the country's long-running Civil War.

"I'm not going to judge you on you going to a reception with Assad and I don't think that people should judge Jeremy by trying to talk to people who might be open to a settlement in Northern Ireland."

Sir Michael confirmed that he met with Assad on the date in question but rejected claims he had “celebrated” his election.