Falklands faux pas: Was pope tricked into ‘supporting’ UK-Argentina talks on islands?

Pope Francis has found himself caught up in the dispute over the Falkland Islands after he was photographed in the Vatican holding a sign calling for Argentinian-British talks on the issue.

The pontiff, who is from Argentina, was reportedly tricked into taking the sign from Gustavo Hoyo, leader of the campaign for dialogue on the islands, during a papal audience. The sign read: “It’s time for dialogue between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falkland Islands.”

The Argentinian president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, promptly tweeted the picture to her 4 million followers with the hashtag #MalvinasArgentinas - the islands’ Spanish name. She has previously called for the pope to intervene in the dispute and promote a dialogue with the UK.

Argentina’s foreign ministry also tweeted that the pope “had received a pro-dialogue message” for Argentina and the UK.

But the Vatican said the pope was unaware of the contents of the sign. Father Ciro Benedettini, a spokesman for the Vatican, said: “The Holy Father did not even realise he had this object in his hands. He has discovered this just now after seeing the photograph.

“The picture was taken during the general audience when many people give items to the Holy Father.”