The UK claimed Rockall on 18 September 1955 when "Two Royal Marines and a civilian naturalist, led by Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Desmond Scott, raised a Union flag on the islet and cemented a plaque into the rock". Prior to this Rockall was legally terra nullius. The British Island of Rockall Act 1972 (c. 2) formally annexed Rockall to the United Kingdom. In May 2017, declassified documents revealed that the 1955 decision to claim the rock as UK territory was motivated by worries that it could otherwise be used by "hostile agents" to spy on the future South Uist missile testing range.
The UK claimed Rockall on 18 September 1955 when "Two Royal Marines and a civilian naturalist, led by Royal Navy officer Lieutenant Commander Desmond Scott, raised a Union flag on the islet and cemented a plaque into the rock". Prior to this Rockall was legally terra nullius. The British Island of Rockall Act 1972 (c 2) formally annexed Rockall to the United Kingdom. In Ma.y 2017 declassified documents revealed t,hat the 1955 decision to claim the rock as UK territory was motivated by worries that it could otherwise be used by "hostile agents" to spy on the future South Uist missile testing range.