The day Argentina invaded the Falklands Islands Cabinet Minister Patrick Jenkin was on a visit to Swindon and gave the Evening Advertiser a dramatic account of the cabinet war meeting just hours beforehand.

He spoke of the seriousness of the situation and described how diplomatic initiatives had failed to find a peaceful solution.

These included an hour-long telephone call by former US President Ronald Reagan to try and persuade Argentina to call off the invasion.

Speaking during a visit to the Blunsdon House Hotel for a local Conservatives dinner he said the crisis could have happened at any time in the past 15 years.

He also revealed that the British Fleet had been brought to a stage of immediate operational readiness.

"It is now a military situation and the mood of the Cabinet towards the Falklands crisis is one of extreme seriousness," said Mr Jenkin.

Devizes MP Charles Morrison, who was recently chairman of the Conservative Party, was also at the dinner.

He said: "The Conservative Party and the House of Commons has full confidence in the Secretary of State for Defence and the Prime Minister to cope with the situation."

Swindon's Labour MP at that time, David Stoddart now Lord Stoddart described the invasion as an "absolute disgrace and an international incident of mammoth proportions."

He said it was unbelievable that the invasion had taken place while the British Government was attempting to find a peaceful solution through the United Nations.

Mr Stoddart said: "It is a complete outrage that this can happen and it shows how wrong the Government's defence policy has been.

"We don't have the proper naval forces to deal with this situation."

The front page of that day's Evening Advertiser showed a picture of a worried looking Margaret Thatcher leaving 10 Downing Street after the emergency Cabinet meeting.

We also quoted Radio Rivadavia in Buenos Aires reporting that Argentine Marines who landed in the Falklands had achieved all their objects by 10am.

The Radio quoted a military spokesman as saying that British Marines had not offered resistance to the Argentine invasion.