The attitude of the PP is reflected in the statements made in the Spanish Parliament by its new leader Sr Pablo Casado and in the press by former Foreign Minister Sr Margallo.

A Gibraltar Government statement adds: The PP have not yet come to terms with the fact that Spain lost Gibraltar in 1704 and ceded it in perpetuity by Treaty in 1713 over three hundred years ago. In those times, territories and regions were handed over from one monarch to another regardless of the wishes of their inhabitants. Times have changed. In this day and age, it is an established principle in international law as laid out in the Charter of the United Nations and in the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, that the principle of self-determination of peoples must be the paramount consideration in the decolonisation process.

<b>OLD MENTALITY</b>

The problem is that people like Sr Casado and Sr Margallo are stuck with an eighteenth century mentality in a world that has moved on. Their approach to Gibraltar bears more resemblance to that of General Franco and his Foreign Minister Castiella that to anything one might expect from a modern, democratic society in the twenty-first century. Under Mr Margallo’s tenure in Madrid, threats were made that the border would be closed and that shared sovereignty would be a pre-condition for Gibraltar to have a relationship with the European Union.

The PP must understand that neither Gibraltar, nor indeed the United Kingdom without our consent, will ever enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with Spain. The people of Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to remain British in a referendum held in 1967. In a another referendum in 2002, 98% voted against the very principle of sharing sovereignty between the United Kingdom and Spain. The wishes of the people could not be clearer.

<a target="_tab" href="http://gibraltarpanorama.gi/customform.aspx?smid=34590">FULL REPORT IN PANORAMA PRINT EDITION AND E-EDITION</a></p>

26-10-18 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR