It was true then, and it is true today. It is just as true of the Falkland Islanders, who have recently confirmed their overwhelming desire to be British; and though the Foreign Office might secretly wish it were otherwise, that desire to be British will exist in Gibraltar for the rest of our lifetimes and beyond. Of course, there are people like Peter Hain MP, who will try to persuade them to seek an alternative destiny, or who will try to cook up schemes for joint sovereignty. They will never agree. The last government came up with a plan to sell them down the straits, but Jack Straw at least had the decency to put it to a referendum. Of the 38,000 Gibraltarians, only 2 per cent were interested in even sharing sovereignty with Spain. There are 98 per cent of Gibraltarians who want to be British, and as long as that is the case it is our absolute duty to protect them and their right to go about their lawful business, in accordance with EU law, without hassle from their neighbour.