Leaving the EU: Gibraltar
(Bromley and Chislehurst)
(Con)
8. What recent discussions he has had with the Government of
Gibraltar on the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. [912247]
The Minister for Europe and the Americas ()
I have spoken to the Chief Minister, Mr Picardo, by phone on a
number of occasions in the past month and I will speak to him
again later this afternoon. We have regular ministerial contact,
including through the Joint Ministerial Council with Gibraltar,
which has met nine times since its formation three years ago.
Ministers and officials across the Government are working closely
with the Government of Gibraltar in preparation for Brexit.
Gibraltar is and will remain a vital part of our family, whatever
the shape of our exit from the EU on 31 October.
I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial
Interests. I welcome my right hon. Friend to his post and his
early engagement with Her Majesty’s Government over Gibraltar.
Will he bear in mind and make it quite clear that we fully
support Gibraltar politically and in practical terms as we leave
the European Union? In particular, will he deal with the
practical measures relating to the vast number of foodstuffs and
the workforce that currently come across the border, which must
be resolved before we leave?
No one is more doughty in his championship of Gibraltar than my
hon. Friend, and I am grateful for his kind words. Let me assure
him—as the Prime Minister has assured the Chief Minister—that the
United Kingdom will protect Gibraltar’s interests as we leave the
EU. From 1967 to 2002, at all points in between and since, we
have said that Gibraltar is going to remain a vital part of our
family. The Government of Gibraltar are responsible for their own
contingency planning, but, as I have said, the UK Government
regularly speak to and meet Ministers to ensure that their robust
plans are in place.
Mr (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)
Is the Minister not aware that whether it is Gibraltar, Hong Kong
or Zimbabwe, people are struggling for the rights that they
thought they had and that they find common cause with people in
the United Kingdom who are struggling to get the political rights
that they thought they had in this country? Is it not about time
that we showed as an example that we believe in parliamentary and
political democracy in this House?
That was quite a wide-ranging question. Let me put it to the hon.
Gentleman in this way: this Government are standing up for the
rights of people—the 17.5 million people of our country who voted
to leave the European Union—and respecting those that did not. We
will make sure that we leave—no ifs, no buts—on 31 October.
Mr (Kettering) (Con)
What assurances has the Minister sought from the Spanish
Government that they will respect Gibraltar’s territorial waters
both before we leave and after?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. We reject and object
robustly to all incursions into Gibraltarian waters. I think that
since the start of this year, there have been 499 such incursions
and we have made 499 objections. He can be confirmed in his
belief that we will support the people of Gibraltar.
Mr (Birmingham, Perry Barr)
(Lab)
The Minister, I believe, supports a no-deal Brexit. How will the
Minister assure the people of Gibraltar that there will be no
disruption of the supply of goods, including food and medicine?
News about delays of four hours at the border, resulting in huge
economic loss, has leaked in the Yellowhammer document. If the
Minister believes that the Yellowhammer document is outdated,
what is the updated solution?
The hon. Gentleman is misinformed. I do not support no deal; I
want a deal with the European Union that works for Britain and
for Gibraltar, but I am prepared to leave with no deal if we
cannot get the deal that is good for us by 31 October. We engage
regularly with the Spanish Government. My right hon. Friend the
Foreign Secretary spoke to Foreign Minister Borrell very recently
about this matter. As I said, I engage regularly with the Chief
Minister of Gibraltar. He assures me that Gibraltar is ready. We
will make sure that Gibraltar is ready and that we continue the
dialogue with the Spanish Government to ensure that there is a
free flow of traffic, people and goods across the border after we
leave.
