Britain has lodged an official protest with Argentina after a sailboat registered in the Falkland Islands was refused entry to dock in Argentina.

A spokesman for the British embassy in Buenos Aires told the BBC he was surprised permission had been denied because the yacht, the Golden Fleece, had sailed in and out of the Argentine port of Ushuaia on many previous occasions.

He said such objections violated an agreement signed between both countries last year restoring air links and improving cooperation.

A spokesman for the Argentine foreign ministry told the BBC the yacht had previously been allowed to dock as a courtesy, even though it never had the proper permits. In 1982, Britain and Argentina fought a brief war over the islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, which are still claimed by Argentina.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service