Defence Minister Jose Pampuro said that President Nestor Kirchner held meetings with concerned ministers "into the early hours" of Friday to examine the reports.

Pampuro said the information had been received with "a lot of concern," the government's Telam news agency reported.

According to the minister, British authorities had confirmed for the first time what Argentina had long suspected.

The Clarin newspaper said the British government had informed the Argentine embassy in London that nuclear arms were on some vessels but had highlighted that Britain had never had any intention to use the arms.

Britain dispatched a naval task force to the South Atlantic in 1982 after Argentine forces invaded the Falkland Islands, which Argentines call the Malvinas.

Clarin, which said it had seen the British foreign ministry's message, reported that Britain had informed the Argentine authorities that the weapons had stayed on the vessels because the fleet had been sent so quickly.

Argentina still claims the islands, which have been in British hands since

The 1982 war cost the lives of 648 Argentine soldiers and 255 British.

WAR.WIRE