British Labour party leader confirms support for Gibraltar

GIBRALTAR Chief Minister Fabian Picardo spoke at some length with a number of Labour front benchers.

During the course of the week, he had spoken to Jeremy Corbyn leader of the Labour party in Britain who assured the Chief Minister of his full support for Gibraltar and, in particular, for working people who might be affected by the process of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union.

In addition, he spoke with and received messages of support from Labour Shadow Minister for Brexit, Sir Kier Starmer, and Shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry.

The Chief Minister said: “I was very pleased to talk to Mr Corbyn about the issues facing Gibraltar as a result of Brexit. He was fully briefed on the issue of Clause 22 of the draft EU Council Guidelines and the problems that could raise for Gibraltar.

“He restated the commitment to British Sovereignty of Gibraltar and the double lock in that respect. I am very happy to be able to report to the people of Gibraltar that Mr Corbyn and the rest of the Labour front bench team do not share any of the views of those in the Labour Party who in 2002 tried to force Gibraltar to share its sovereignty with Spain. I thanked Mr Corbyn for his support and commitment to Gibraltar and its people.”

This last comment may have been a deliberate reference to former Labour Cabinet Minister Lord Hain who was involved in the 2002 proposed deal and has once again referred to it, suggesting that Gibraltar would be far better off if sovereignty was to be shared with Spain.