Spanish minister speaks out after former Conservative minister Michael Howard said PM would ‘go to war’ over territory

Spain has urged the British government to keep a cool head in the negotiations over the future of Gibraltar after the former Conservative leader Michael Howard suggested Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory as Margaret Thatcher once did over the Falklands.

“Someone in the UK is losing their cool and there’s no need for it,” said Spain’s foreign minister, Alfonso Dastis.

While he noted that Howard “hadn’t exactly said” that the UK would go to war over the issue, Dastis added: “Making comparisons with past situations like the Falklands is a little out of context. The Spanish government is a little surprised by the tone of comments coming out of Britain, a country known for its composure.”

Spain suggests UK needs to calm down over Gibraltar following Howard's war threat - Politics live Read more

On Sunday, Howard told Sky News: “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.”

The future of Gibraltar has become the first dispute of the exit talks since May formally began the process of leaving the European Union. The row began after the European council, whose members comprise the EU member states, shocked Downing Street by saying in draft guidelines for the Brexit negotiations that the British overseas territory could be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with Spain’s agreement.

May’s spokesman on Monday said Britain will wait until the end of the month to find out what guidelines the EU members have agreed. “These are draft guidelines that were issued ... We will wait and see what is agreed by the 27.”

Spain’s official response to the draft EU Brexit guidelines on Gibraltar has been noticeably low-key. On Friday, the Spanish government spokesman, Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, said Madrid was throughly satisfied that the EU has recognised “the legal and political position that Spain has defended”.

Jack Straw, the Labour former foreign secretary, said on Monday that the idea that Britain could take military action against Spain to protect Gibraltar was “frankly absurd”, and predicted a peaceful post-Brexit solution would be found for the territory.

Theresa May would go to war to protect Gibraltar, Michael Howard says Read more

“I’m sorry, this is 2017-18, it’s not 1851 [...] The idea of Spain going to war against Britain over Gibraltar is frankly absurd, and reeks of 19th-century jingoism,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

“It’s not going to happen. Even Gen Franco, the Spanish dictator, never sought to claim the Rock by military means.”

But Straw, who tried and failed while in office to give Spain joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, said its people might now have to accept that circumstances had changed.

“It’s in the interests of Gibraltarians for there to be some kind of deal done with the Spanish in the new circumstances, circumstances which the Gibraltarians didn’t want, because they voted in very substantial numbers to stay within the European Union,” he said.

“For the Spanish, Gibraltar is an affront to their sense of national identity and their sense of sovereignty. It’s a bit like having a part of Dover being owned by Spain.”

However, Straw said Spain would be wary of taking intemperate action. After the 2002 referendum, in which 99% of voters rejected joint sovereignty, with just 187 votes in favour, he said: “The Spanish understood the strength of opinion in Gibraltar and they’ve held back ever since from trying to impose a further solution on the Gibraltarians.”

On Sunday, senior European diplomats warned that the EU would not back down in its support for Spain’s demands when it comes to Gibraltar. Spain are taking this very, very seriously,” one told the Guardian. “I think there is support across the board among the member states. Why not?”

May on Sunday told Fabian Picardo, the chief minister of Gibraltar, that the UK remained “steadfastly committed to our support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy”, according to the details of a telephone conversation released by Downing Street.

Picardo told Reuters on Monday that the European council president, Donald Tusk, was “behaving like a cuckolded husband who is taking it out on the children” over the Gibraltar clause. “We are not going to be a chip and we are not going to be a victim of Brexit as we are not the culprits of Brexit: we voted to stay in the European Union so taking it out on us is to allow Spain to behave in the manner of the bully,” he said.

Boris Johnson, the UK foreign secretary, said on arriving at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg: “The sovereignty of Gibraltar is unchanged and is not going to change, and cannot conceivably change, without the express support and consent of the people of Gibraltar and the United Kingdom.”

Bert Koenders, the Dutch foreign minister, called for calm. “We see now how difficult the divorce is”, he said. “Let’s be cool and carry on and not use too harsh language. Let’s just negotiate.”

In Brussels there was no weakening on of the resolve to allow Spain a say on the future of Gibraltar. “The draft guidelines...have the full backing of the European commission, the full support by President Juncker and Michel Barnier,” said a commission spokesman. “Let there be no doubt about it. This is a process on which we work very closely with President Tusk and we are very happy to affirm our support to these guidelines.”



Asked to respond to the Howard’s comments, the spokesman said: “The European commission takes the side of dialogue and cooperation - which is our way of doing things.”

Javier Nart, a Spanish liberal MEP, said that his country’s interest was to ensure that Gibraltar, could no longer act as a tax haven to the detriment of Spain.

“Frankly speaking it does not give me a second of happiness if the Spanish flag is on the rock. What is important for Spain, and for me, is that this territory is not used as a fiscal base against Spain.

“No-one is going to back the situation of the United Kingdom on Gibraltar, it is unacceptable. This jingoism from Mr Howard, that he wants to put on the battle-dress, is grotesque and ridiculous. The degree of quality of the politics and politicians in the United Kingdom is now at the level of Farage.”