British warships during the Falklands War in 1982 carried nuclear depth charges, but the weapons never entered the territorial waters of any Latin American nation, the ministry of Defense said last night.
"The weapons were type WE177 nuclear depth charges. They were on the task force when it sailed south but never entered the territorial waters of the Falkland Islands or any South American country," a spokesman told Reuters news agency.
"The decision was taken to transfer them to other ships heading back home," he added, stressing that there had never been any intention of using the weapons.
He said it was the first time the British government had admitted that the task force assembled to retake the Falkland Islands after Argentina invaded and reclaimed the islands it knows as the Malvinas was equipped with nuclear weapons.
He stressed that it was routine for British naval surface ships to carry nuclear weapons during the 1980s. The practice was finally ended in 1993.
The Argentine government issued an angry statement in response, seeking assurances from Britain that no nuclear weapons had been left in the Southern Atlantic, in sunken vessels or on the seabed.
"This incident could have had huge consequences for the inhabitants, natural resources and environment of the region," the statement read. "It is unacceptable to try and justify it ... during an operation aimed at preserving a colony in the Southern Atlantic."
The information came to light after a reporter asked for information about nuclear incidents.
Included in that information were details of several incidents involving damage to containers carrying the depth charges as they were transferred from the task force to the returning ships.
None of the damage to the containers was serious and none of the weapons was damaged, the spokesman stressed.