Britain's
threat of legal action to Spain on Gibraltar
Gibraltar
from the air.
BRITAIN
should take Spain to the European Court of Justice over its flagrant breaches
of sovereignty in Gibraltar, MPs will say next week
The
call will put Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond under further pressure after
criticism that he has failed to properly deal with the issue.
It
follows an ultimatum by the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee which gave the Foreign
Office six months to take action.
Speaking
last night, committee chairman Richard Ottaway MP told the Sunday Express: “We
have been a soft touch for long enough.
“We
told the Government that if there was no improvement in six months, Article 259
of the Lisbon treaty should be invoked, and we should take Spain to the
European Court of Justice.
“Well,
six months have passed and little has changed: the delays are still going on,
Spain is still illegally intruding in British territorial wars and air space,
and Madrid is unwilling to enter into even ad hoc talks with Britain.”
In
October Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo QC, told the United Nations
that Spain had made 245 illegal incursions into British waters in just two
months.
In
a separate development last night, Madrid was accused of “shameful” behaviour
after using its support of the war against the Islamic State terror group to
persuade US politicians to drop plans to officially back Britain’s claim over
Gibraltar.
The
move comes just weeks after a series of barbaric beheadings of US and British
citizens by IS, including aid workers David Haines and Alan Henning.
