The BBC motoring hit Top Gear show that sparked a diplomatic incident in Argentina forms part of the BBC’s Christmas schedule despite continuing complaints from the South American country’s government.

Britain will not invite the Argentinian president Cristina Fernandez to Margaret Thatcher’s funeral next week in a snub likely to deepen a long-running diplomatic dispute over the Falkland Islands.

The Falkland Islands are to hold a referendum on their “political status” - hoping to bring an end to the continuing dispute with Argentina over the islands’ sovereignty, their government said today.

The United Nations committee on decolonisation has called on Britain and Argentina to resume negotiations over the Falkland Islands, 20 years after the war.