Navy warships to sail for Gibraltar: Task force on its way in show of force to Spanish



Three ships including HMS Westminster to stop at Gibraltar, MoD reveals



Follows call from Gibraltar chief minister for military show of strength



Spain threatening to charge thousands of workers £43 to cross border

Gibraltar authorities are building a reef to bar Spanish fishing boats

David Cameron warned Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy Britain could sue

A Royal Navy rapid reaction force is to set sail for Gibraltar on Monday as tensions over the Rock continue to rise.

Ten vessels including the aircraft carrier Illustrious, two frigates and support ships are heading to the waters off Gibraltar as part of an annual exercise.

But defence officials have revealed that three of them – the frigate Westminster and two support vessels – will call in at the British sovereign base at Gibraltar for three days, beginning on August 19.

Setting sail: HMS Westminster will leave Britain on Monday and is expected in Gibraltar within days Incoming: HMS Westminster (left) will set sail for Gibraltar on Monday. Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo (right) urged the government to 'demonstrate the waters are British by filling them with British assets' In a show of force, the warships will practise ‘a range of operations’ including ‘deterring adversaries’. Although diplomatic relations between Britain and Spain over Gibraltar have plunged into the deep freeze, the Ministry of Defence insisted that the mission, called Cougar ’13, is a long-planned exercise. But senior government sources conceded that the timing is convenient since it will reassure the people of Gibraltar after Spain imposed draconian border checks in a dispute over fishing. And while the deployment could have been delayed to avoid upsetting the Spanish government, it was not. A Whitehall source said: ‘The timing is not unhelpful. We could have decided to call it off or divert it away from Gibraltar to avoid offending the Spanish. But there was absolutely no question of that.’ The deployment follows demands from the government of Gibraltar for the coalition to beef up its naval presence off the Rock, and calls for gunboat diplomacy from Tory MPs. David Cameron broke the news that the task force was set to sail to his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy in a tense phone call on Wednesday which failed to resolve the diplomatic standoff. Appeal: David Cameron asked the Spanish Prime Minister to scale back contentious border checks with the British territory, including blocking flights to Gibraltar Access: The Spanish government raised the prospect of imposing a 50 euros (£43) charge on vehicles entering Gibraltar and closing Spanish airspace to flights heading for the Rock

News that British warships are heading to Gibraltar is likely to add to the tensions with Spain

Downing Street claimed Mr Rajoy had offered to ‘de-escalate’ the crisis after Mr Cameron issued a coded warning that Britain might take Spain to the European Court of Justice over the ‘disproportionate’ border checks.

But within minutes of the call, the Spanish government insisted they were doing nothing wrong.

Spanish foreign minister Jose Garcia-Margallo has threatened to impose tolls at the border and ban Gibraltar-bound aircraft from Spanish airspace because the government of Gibraltar sank concrete blocks off the Rock to deter Spanish fishermen.

Last night Tory MP Andrew Rosindell, a member of the all-party Parliamentary group on Gibraltar, said: ‘It’s wonderful news that the Royal Navy is on its way but I’d prefer it if this deployment was in response to the behaviour of the Spanish.

‘If they’re going down there, they might as well stay while this situation is going on.

‘The most powerful thing we could do is to announce that the Queen is going to visit. That would send the strongest signal that Gibraltar is British.’

On the ground, Spanish officials again forced motorists to wait for hours yesterday, imposing more border checks when they spotted UKIP deputy leader Paul Nuttall viewing their operations.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence said: ‘The Royal Navy’s annual Cougar deployment is long-planned and well-established.

‘Gibraltar is a strategic base for UK defence and as such Royal Navy ships visit its waters throughout the year as part of a range of regular and routine deployments.’

Tensions: The British Foreign Office fears the proposed Spanish border charges would penalise islanders who regularly commute to Spain for work

Clash: Prime Minister David Cameron made clear his unhappiness to his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy, warning controls at the border with Gibraltar were 'disproportionate and unacceptable' Warship: The Ministry of Defence stressed that the movement of the nine-vessel Response Force Task Group was 'long-planned' Scale back: Mr Rajoy has offered to 'reduce measures' at the Gibraltar border after his conversation with David Cameron. Passengers prepare to board a flight at Gibraltar airport, which could be banned from entering Spanish airspace under the proposals



