British veterans were outraged last night after a new £10 million Falklands War museum in Argentina claimed 1,200 UK troops died – nearly five times the real figure of 255.

They accused Argentina’s government of ‘a pathetic attempt to rewrite history’ at the state-run museum in Patagonia after it insisted the number of British war dead had been covered up.

The veterans are also incensed at a display saying the 1982 war began when ‘the British Empire attacked civilians’ – and a claim Argentina came close to victory.

The museum in Bariloche was opened at a ceremony with the heads of Argentina’s army, navy and air force last month.

Exhibits include a Mirage III interceptor jet which attacked British warships.

One display says the British death toll ‘could be close to 1,200, given that British military reports remain secret and will not be revealed until 2072’.

Another display calls the war ‘lawful retaliation’ after Britain attacked civilians. In reality, the UK saved islanders after an invasion by General Galtieri’s military junta.

The battle of Goose Green is labelled ‘one of the toughest in the war history of the United Kingdom’. In fact, outnumbered Paras and Marines forced an Argentine surrender within 14 hours.

The museum in Bariloche was opened at a ceremony held last month
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The museum in Bariloche was opened at a ceremony held last month

Argentina’s final surrender after just ten weeks is also ‘glossed over’, says shocked visitor Steve Douglas, 65, from Wokingham, Berkshire.

‘Most offensive is their suggestion that we distorted our casualty numbers in some UK government- inspired cover-up,’ he adds.

Lord West of Spithead, a former head of the Royal Navy, who commanded HMS Ardent in the war, says: ‘Britain is not a country which covers up the numbers of people killed fighting in war.’

Tom Herring, a former paratrooper and the chairman of the South Atlantic Medal Association 1982, agrees: ‘It is a fact that there were 255 British military personnel killed in the war.

‘Trying to claim there were more British troops killed in action than there were is an insult to all of those who died in the conflict, both British and Argentinian.’

Jeff Williams, a former Royal Marine Sergeant Major, who also served in the war, adds: ‘You can’t make a loss out of a win, no matter how hard you try.

‘This is a pathetic attempt to rewrite history. I’m not surprised Argentina is trying to convince people the war was not a catastrophic failure for their country.’