Gibraltar

Lord Swinfen Excerpts

Monday 16th July 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

The noble Lord is absolutely right that it could develop seriously, but from the point of view of the Spanish fishing community, the Spanish Government, ourselves or the people of Gibraltar there is no interest in escalating this to the point of any kind of physical action. Therefore, we think that dialogue is the best way forward. We have good relations with the Spanish Government. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary met the Spanish Foreign Secretary on 29 May and discussed it, and we think this is the right channel through which to develop a better dialogue and to meet all these detailed issues, including the fishing incursions. Once we have solved them, we would take a broader view about whether Spain is going to co-operate closely with us and Gibraltar on the kind of trilateral regime we had before, but the first thing is to solve the fishing dispute.

[Lord Swinfen]

My Lords, what is done with the vessels that are caught illegally operating in Gibraltarian waters? Are they destroyed?

[Lord Howell of Guildford]

They are escorted and moved out of British sovereign waters by our patrol craft. They are asked to go and they go.