Theresa May would go to war to
protect Gibraltar, Michael Howard says
Former Tory leader suggests PM would
act to protect Gibraltar’s sovereignty as Margaret Thatcher did for the
Falklands
Anushka Asthana Political editor
Sunday 2 April 2017 13.15 BST First published on Sunday 2
April 2017 11.17 BST
Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect
Gibraltar as Margaret Thatcher once did for the Falklands, former Conservative
leader Michael Howard has suggested, in comments that were immediately
criticised as inflammatory.
Lord Howard’s suggestion that the prime minister would be
ready to follow in the footsteps of her predecessor 35 years ago came alongside
a government pledge to protect the sovereignty of Britain’s overseas territory.
Downing Street said May had called Fabian Picardo, the chief
minister of Gibraltar, on Sunday morning to say the UK remained “steadfastly
committed to our support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy”.
She said Britain would never enter into arrangements that
would bring the territory under Spanish rule against the “freely and
democratically expressed wishes” of its residents, and promised to include the
local administration in the Brexit process.
Sir Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, also used robust
language. “We’re going to look after Gibraltar. Gibraltar is going to be
protected all the way because the sovereignty cannot be changed without the
agreement of the people of Gibraltar ,” he said.
Although the question of Gibraltar had been included in the
EU’s draft negotiating guidelines, circulated on Friday, Fallon attempted to
ratchet down the controversy, on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, by stressing that
Spain had not specifically raised any issue of sovereignty.
‘Gibraltar is going to be protected all the way’, says UK
defence secretary
Speaking minutes later, Howard used a broadcast interview to
ramp up the rhetoric after saying there was “no question” of Britain weakening
its stance with regards to the sovereignty of one of its overseas territories.
“Thirty-five years
ago this week, another woman prime minister sent a taskforce halfway across the
world to defend the freedom of another small group of British people against
another Spanish-speaking country, and I’m absolutely certain that our current
prime minister will show the same resolve in standing by the people of
Gibraltar,” Howard told Sophy Ridge on Sunday on Sky News.
The comments triggered an immediate response from Liberal
Democrat leader, Tim Farron. “It is unbelievable that within a week of
triggering article 50 there are Conservatives already discussing potential wars
with our European neighbours.
“In only a few days the Conservative right are turning long
term allies into potential enemies. I hope this isn’t a sign of the
government’s approach to the long negotiations to come.”
He claimed Brexite rs had gone from cheering to
“sabre-rattling for war” within four days. “It is absolutely ludicrous and
totally inflammatory.”
Earlier, Picardo had flown to the UK to appear on Marr . He
told presenter Eddie Mair that the government had included Gibraltar in its
preparations for Brexit talks, and included the issue in a white paper, even if
it was not specifically referred to in May’s article 50 notification letter.
Admitting he was n ot thrilled about Brexit after people in
Gibraltar voted 96% in favour of remain, he said he was now energetically
supporting the prime minister.
“Therein lies the rub. When we get the deal on Brexit, it
must be a deal that applies across the United Kingdom in respect of future
trade and if there is such a deal, it is only fair, proper and right that it
should also apply to Gibraltar.”
In his interview, Fallon also said Britain and the remaining
members of the EU would all be “worse off” if negotiators failed to secure a
deal, as he reiterated a warning that the UK could withdraw security cooperation
if Brexit talks fail.
Asked about the controversy surrounding May’s apparent
threat to weaken security cooperation if Brexit talks turn sour, Fallon said
the negotiations had to cover both a trade deal and issues such as
counter-terrorism and police cooperation.
“It is very important to link trade and security because
what we are now looking for is a deep and special relationship that covers both
economic and security cooperation. Those two things go together,” he said.
“It is very important that we go on committed to the security
of the continent.”
Fallon then talked about sending 800 troops to Estonia,
others to Poland, and RAF Typhoons to Romania, which are all under Britain’s
Nato commitments not linked to EU membership.
“We are stepping up security because it remains our
continent and this is a very uncertain time for Europe and right we should be
playing our time on that. We’d all be worse off if there wasn’t a deal – we are
expecting to have a deal.”
The defence secretary admitted some issues were inside the
European treaties, and others (including Nato) not.
“The letter refers to our ambition to have a completely new
partnership on the economic side but also on security side,” he said, arguing
that stating a fact about defence capabilities wasn’t a threat.
“This isn’t a
bargaining process. We happen to have the biggest defence budget in Europe, we
have the biggest navy in Europe.”
In admitting the government would do everything it could to
avoid a “cliff edge”, he would not give full assurances that his party would
enter a 2020 election having secured controls on free movement.
“We have made it clear that we are leaving the European
Union, we are leaving the single market, we are leaving the customs union, and
we will no longer be a part of the ambit of the ECJ. But it is also clear that
we have to avoid a cliff edge – we need to give businesses the certainty that
they need that there won’t suddenly be a difference the day after we leave and
day before.
“We will do everything we can to avoid a cliff edge so there
will be for some sectors inevitably implementation periods,” he said.
Asked if free movement could then continue beyond 2020, he
added: “You are speculating about the course of the negotiations. We are not
expecting to take advantage of the four great freedoms – our object is to
regain control of migration.”
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