In October 2025 His Excellency the Governor, Sir Ben Bathurst, and the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, established a Steering Group to consider reforms to the governance of the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP). On 15th January 2026, the Steering Group met for the second time to consider the specific recommendations of the McGrail Inquiry Report, many of which are related to the governance of the Police.

A statement continued: “The Steering Group necessarily consists of those elected and appointed officials who are responsible under the Constitution for the law and policy related to the Police, along with Police operations, without whom the McGrail Inquiry Report recommendations could not be implemented. However, the Steering Group intends to consult widely on all relevant opinions on the governance of the RGP.

“The Steering Group concluded that in the short term (until summer 2026), its priority will be the implementation of the Chair of the McGrail Inquiry’s recommendations on the governance of the RGP and on RGP operations, along with associated laws. Responsibility for the implementation of each of the relevant recommendations has been assigned to relevant stakeholders, namely the Chair of the Gibraltar Police Authority (GPA), the Commissioner of the RGP, and His Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar (HMGoG).

“Efforts to implement the recommendations are already underway in earnest, with several already having been successfully implemented by HMGoG and the RGP (notably recommendations 3, 4, 19, 20 and 22). It was agreed to form a sub-committee of the Working Group to assist in the process of implementing the remaining recommendations.

“The Steering Group also heard from Mr Christian Rocca KC, Director of Public Prosecutions, and Mr Michael Podesta, Crown Counsel, who attended in an advisory capacity as subject matter experts. It was agreed that future meetings would be briefed by other experts as required. It was also agreed to invite His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services to brief the Steering Group, as well as to conduct an interim visit to both the RGP and Gibraltar Defence Police (GDP).

“The Steering Group remains committed to exploring other models for longer-term reform of the governance of the RGP, which will continue concurrently with work underway on the Inquiry recommendations. Ms Samantha Sacramento, a former Minister for Justice, updated the meeting on her consultations and her attendance at the UK’s Conference of Police and Crime Commissioners (PCC) on the UK’s forthcoming intent to reform the governance of the police.

“Wider reform will require cross-party support and therefore is likely to be implemented after the next General Election.”

His Excellency the Governor said: ‘As I have constitutional responsibility for Internal Security (including the Police), I am co-chairing the Steering Group with the Chief Minister who is responsible for resourcing the Royal Gibraltar Police. Along with the Chair of the Gibraltar Police Authority and the Commissioner of the RGP, with advice from others, including the Attorney General, we are committed to implementing the McGrail Inquiry recommendations by summer 2026. We are consulting widely with relevant subject matter experts. We also invited His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary to visit shortly’.

The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: ‘As Chief Minister, I am committed to the safety and security of Gibraltar. As I said in my New Year’s message, I am completely committed to implementing the 29 recommendations put forward by Sir Peter Openshaw, the majority of which related to the governance and operations of the Royal Gibraltar Police. Whilst responsibility for policy and operational police delivery lie outside my Constitutional remit, the collective working of the Steering Group is the body which enables us to consider all aspects holistically’.

Chair of the Police Authority, Mr Peter Montegriffo KC said: ‘There are multiple recommendations from the McGrail Inquiry Report that relate to the Gibraltar Police Authority. I am chairing a meeting of the GPA this month to take the views of members on how we will implement these by summer 2026. I was also interested to hear of the changes that the UK is looking into for governance of the police, though in the longer term we must adopt a system that works for Gibraltar, reflecting our local context without compromising effective oversight and accountability’

Commissioner of the Royal Gibraltar Police, Mr Owain Richards said: ‘As the operational lead for the RGP, I advised the Steering Group on the progress that has already been made to date on the recommendations of the McGrail Inquiry Report that relate to the operational aspects of policing, as well as the work that is currently underway on cross cutting issues. I welcome the decision to invite His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary to visit the RGP and talk to the Steering Group’.