Oral Answers to Questions

Robert Neill Excerpts

Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady’s claim in relation to democracy is absolutely ridiculous. This Parliament gave people the right to choose whether to remain in the European Union or to leave the European Union. People exercised that vote, and we saw numbers of people voting that we had not seen before. It was a great exercise in democracy in this country, and I believe it gave this Parliament an instruction. We should ensure that we leave the European Union, as the people voted.

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

Q10. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.There are no people more proudly and passionately British than the people of Gibraltar. The agreed text of the withdrawal agreement gives significant and important safeguards to them in the text and in the protocol. Will my right hon. Friend make it clear that under no circumstances will she permit that text to be reopened to put those safeguards at risk and that under no circumstances will she permit Spain to seek to exclude the people of Gibraltar from discussions on the future arrangements?

[The Prime Minister]

We are absolutely steadfast, as is my hon. Friend, in our support for Gibraltar, its people and its economy. We have always been clear that Gibraltar is covered by our exit negotiations. We have been committed to fully involving Gibraltar as we exit the European Union. We are seeking a deal that works for the whole UK family, and that deal must work for Gibraltar, too.

I am pleased that we have agreed a protocol, as my hon. Friend knows, on Gibraltar. That will form part of a wider package of agreements between the UK, Spain and the Government of Gibraltar setting out the parties’ commitment to co-operation. I have been clear that we will not exclude Gibraltar from our negotiations on the future relationship. We want a deal that works for the whole UK family, and that includes Gibraltar.