Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Mark Francois Excerpts
Thursday 31st October 2024

(3 weeks, 3 days ago)

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The following extract is from the urgent question on Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks on 14 October 2024.
Mark Francois Portrait Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
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History shows again and again that appeasement does not work. It was inevitable after the abject surrender of the Chagos islands, for that is what it is, that the Spanish would try to exert pressure on Gibraltar. [Interruption.] Hon. Members shake their heads, but the Government are so embarrassed by the Chagos deal that they will not even tell the House of Commons what we will have to pay to rent our own base.

Coming back to Gibraltar, my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) is right that under Blair, Labour tried to sell out the Gibraltarians for joint sovereignty and a referendum killed it. We could not trust Labour on Gibraltar before, so why on earth, after what it has done to Chagos and the Chagossians, should we trust Labour now?