Gibraltar: The British people will harshly judge any prime minister who lets down Gibraltar at the last moment in Britain’s negotiations to leave the European Union, the chief minister of “the Rock” has said.
Gibraltar voters “chose to remain (in the EU) and should not become first or last victim of Brexit,” Chief Minister Fabian Picardo (pictured) warned.
But he expressed confidence that whoever emerges as prime minister after Britain’s general election on June 8 understands this: “We will not be let down at five minutes to midnight.”
Gibraltar, a tiny British enclave on Spain’s southern tip dubbed “the Rock” because of its famous cliff-faced mountain, is set to be a major point of contention in the exit talks.
Residents of the territory voted overwhelmingly to remain part of the EU in last year’s Brexit referendum. Gibraltar wants London to negotiate a “special status” with EU for it after British exit. “The British people would judge very harshly a prime minister or any other minister in British cabinet who at the last minute lets down people of Gibraltar,” Picardo said.
But he added: “The next prime minister of the UK ... will continue to stand by people of Gibraltar and continue to ensure that the sovereignty of Gibraltar is secure.”
Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives are tipped to increase their majority in the election, opinion polls show.
In March, the EU offered Spain a veto right over future relationship between Gibraltar and the EU after Britain leaves the bloc. Spain, which claims sovereignty over the territory it ceded to Britain in 1713, has frequently irritated EU partners with attempts to use EU negotiations to put pressure on Gibraltar.
