Aug 04 - Former MoD Advisor Calls On UK To Safeguard Gibraltar’s Interests Following Brexit
A former Ministy of Defence advisor has said Royal Navy warships “must be sent to Gibraltar to protect it from Spain” during Brexit negotiations.
Luke Coffey, Director of the Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, wrote an opinion piece on the Rock for the Conservative Home website calling for the UK Government to safeguard Gibraltar’s interests during the UK’s Article 50 negotiations with the EU.
He said: “Many in Gibraltar feel anxious about the outcome of the Brexit vote. After all, 96 per cent of the Gibraltarians participating in the referendum voted to remain in the EU. Other than issue the obligatory statements from the Foreign Office, the Government has done little to reassure those living on the Rock that their interests will be safeguarded.”
In addition to an increased Royal Navy presence in Gibraltar, he calls for the new Prime Minister, Teresa May, and her recently appointed cabinet including Boris Johnson, Liam Fox, Michael Fallon and David Davis, to make a joint visit to Gibraltar as soon as possible.
He adds that Gibraltar’s future outside the EU should not be treated as a bilateral issue between Spain and the UK, but rather the status of the Rock should be directly addressed during the Article 50 negotiations with the EU.
Mr Coffey said the Department of Exiting the European Union should establish a Gibraltar Planning Unit and a Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Gibraltar should be appointed and that this must be used to find “sources of leverage” against Spain to maximise the UK’s bargaining position during the Article 50 negotiations on Gibraltar.
With regards to Spanish workers currently employed in Gibraltar, Mr Coffey adds: “Spain should not cut its nose to spite its face by closing or tinkering with the land border.”
And finally, Mr Coffey warns that the UK needs to prepare for the worst in the event the EU caves to Spain’s anachronistic behaviour toward Gibraltar.
“This could include maintaining a robust air bridge if the land border is closed. Also, in the event of a border closure by Spain, the UK must be prepared to respond with appropriate, firm, and proportionate measures against Madrid. It must be made crystal clear to Spain that there will be a cost to pay for reckless behavior,” he adds.
To conclude his piece, Mr Coffey said: “Gibraltarians are tough – it is in their DNA. Since 1309, the Rock’s inhabitants have endured 14 sieges. In 1969, Franco closed the land border cutting off the Rock from the rest of Europe until 1985. This divided families and hurt the economy, yet the people of Gibraltar never wavered.
“Gibraltarians revere sovereignty and self-determination perhaps more than any other people in the world. Westminster has a moral obligation to protect the interests of British citizens living in Gibraltar as they would if they were living in London, Cardiff, Belfast, or Edinburgh.
“If the right policies are pursued, and the UK enters the Article 50 negotiations with a plan, this should not be a problem.”
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