Following the Prime Minister's meeting with the Chief Minister of
Gibraltar today, a Downing Street spokesperson said:
“The Prime Minister met Chief Minister of
Gibraltar Fabian Picardo in the margins of the UK - Overseas
Territories Joint Ministerial Council this afternoon.
“The Prime Minister reiterated his unshakeable commitment to
Gibraltar and to UK sovereignty.
“The two leaders discussed progress on UK-EU Treaty negotiations
and their shared determination to reach a deal that assures
future prosperity and security for Gibraltarians.
“They reflected on their shared experience of working in the
legal field, including in the Overseas Territories, and looked
forward to meeting again.”
PM's remarks at UK - Overseas Territories Joint
Ministerial Council
It's a real pleasure to be here, to see you and for many cases
sitting round the table to be reminded of my old world, because I
have litigated in your countries, or litigated about your
country, for about two thirds of you around the table, so it's
really good to have this opportunity to talk to you and to be
here. Thank you also for coming to London.
I think this is towards the end of two days that you've been
here, which I hope has gone well. And I'm deeply appreciative of
the fact that I am what stands between you and a drinks
reception, so I'll keep this relatively brief.
You have come a long way to be around this table and made a huge
effort as you always do. But we are the beneficiaries because we
are the ones that gain from the fact that you're here at these
discussions, so I really appreciate the time that you've put into
it. And believe you me, it really makes a difference to the way
in which we approach our shared concerns.
And because it is the first of a new Government this is an
opportunity for me to make absolutely clear, to repeat no doubt
what others have said, that we want to reset the government's
relationship with our Overseas Territories and that's part of a
bigger piece of work that we're doing resetting on the
international stage -being clear about the role of the UK in an
ever more volatile world - but that does include the reset with
you.
And that is why it's really important for me personally to be
here, because I need to get to know you, you need to get to know
me, you need to feel that you can get in touch with me, or David
or Stephen, any time you like, it's not a remote relationship.
You know who we are and how to get hold of us and how to have a
discussion on any issues that are of importance to you.
Just to give you a sense of what lies behind the reset, I stood
on the steps of Downing Street the day after the election and
made a speech - I hadn't slept for I don't know how many hours at
that point - obviously we have an immediate handover of power.
But I stood there and said that the one thing we would try to be
above all else would be a Government of service.
That is a defining feature of this government, it drives
everything that we do and it will drive the reset in our
relationship with you as well.
So that sense of real service and personal connection.
And I'll just give to start with an example of the Falkland
Islands because as some people will know, my uncle was on HMS
Antelope when it sunk. So he was out there fighting. And I
remember it acutely.
Because in those days there was no social media, there was no
instant access. As you will know, the Antelope went down, lives
were lost, and we didn't know what had happened to my uncle. We
knew that he was on the boat, but we didn't know whether he'd
survived.
I have this image cast on my mind of my mum hunched over the
transistor radio, because there wasn't 24-hour news, listening to
the 1 o'clock bulletin, the 6 o'clock bulletin, desperately
wanting to learn more about how many had survived and who had
survived and not.
So these things are often personal I think in the relationships
that we have with you and obviously we were very pleased to learn
in the end that he was safe and returned, others sadly didn't.
And that sense of service, is why I am able to promise you
Britian's unwavering support and I know that is really important
for you. That is an ironclad commitment to democratic autonomy
and your right to self-determination. It's working in partnership
on the issues that matter to us all. Partnership is an important
word - with a commitment to the principle of “nothing about you
without you.”
So there's a partnership there, we work together, and that is the
basis that is important.
And it means listening to your concerns. I'm a great believer in
the power of face-to-face contact and listening to what people
have to say.
Most of the problems that we confront in politics are better
solved if we've actually listened to what people are saying to
us, heard it first-hand and then arranged in the question of how
do we face that challenge, how do we take that opportunity.
And that's why I'm here. Because I've invested a lot in
face-to-face time with leaders and I want to do that with you as
well so that we can see this thing through together and solve
problems together.
That relationship we're resetting with others, with the
Commonwealth… I was at the G20 earlier this week, COP the week
before that.
But all of that is important and I do genuinely think that when
you get to know someone, you see them and understand them – I
know how you think, you know how I think - that will massively
help the relationship.
