'Don't forget us!' Gibraltar makes desperate plea to UK as Ireland steals show on Brexit
GIBRALTAR has issued an urgent plea to Theresa May and Brussels not to “forget them” during Brexit negotiations as headlines are dominated by the Irish border conundrum.
Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo previously said he was “hugely optimistic” about Britain’s future trade deal with Brussels, but now he has issued a plea for the UK and EU not to forget the thousands of people who cross the Spanish border every day.
It comes as the bitter row over the Northern Irish border has dominated the talks.
Mr Picardo said: “We cannot forget that thousands of people will need to be able to continue to freely cross the frontier between Gibraltar and Spain after Brexit — it’s not all about the border with Eire.”
Speaking to The Sun, he added: “The Gibraltar frontier affects families, tourists, businesses and workers.
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“It has to continue to work without Madrid or Brussels bureaucrats putting unnecessary obstacles in people's way to punish us for Brexit.
“And this matters as much to Gibraltarians and Brits as it matters to Spaniards and other Europeans.”
But the minister also lambasted Madrid, saying Spanish and European politics must not “get in the way”.
He continued: “Thirteen thousand Spanish residents work in Gibraltar every day - and many kids come into Gibraltar for private schools here too.
"We must not let stale Spanish or European politics get in their way."
Gibraltar is overwhelmingly in favour of Remain with 96 per cent of the 32,000 Brits living there voting in support of the EU during the referendum.
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The comments come as the Irish government is pushing for Northern Ireland to be separated from the rest of the UK to solve problems over the border and despite reports that Mrs May has said she is willing to pay up to £50 billion in a divorce bill.
If the talks fail then Mrs May is under huge pressure to quit the negotiations and prepare for World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules which experts believe will benefit the UK economy by £135 billion a year but harm the EU.
The Government unveiled a £3 billion Brexit war chest in the Budget last month to get the UK ready for no deal.
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A senior government source said that Irish demands to effectively cut off Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK are “unacceptable.”
Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney denied that his government is trying to unite Ireland through the back door.
But Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has threatened to block the progress of Brexit talks over Irish border issue.
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Mr Varadkar demanded a written guarantee that Britain will not push for a hard border.
He said: “We’ve been given assurances that there will be no hard border in Ireland, that there won’t be any physical infrastructure, that we won’t go back to the borders of the past.
“We want that written down in practical terms in the conclusions of phase one.”
The EU is refusing to progress on to trade talks until progress is made on the key Brexit issues including the financial settlement, Irish border and citizens’ rights.
