GIBRALTAR (Hansard, 9 August 1966)

§ Q1. Mr. Braine
asked the Prime Minister whether, in view of the breakdown of the Anglo-Spanish talks on Gibraltar, he will now transfer responsibility for this British territory to the Home Department.

§ The Prime Minister (Mr. Harold Wilson)
As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made clear yesterday, the talks have not broken down, Sir. The second part of the hon. Member's Question does not arise, though the suggestion made by him was dealt with in Answers on 1st, 7th and 26th July.

§ Mr. Braine
Is the Prime Minister aware that the object of the Question was to get him to identify the British Government with the people of Gibraltar who are under considerable pressure, indeed persecution, from Spain? Will he now make plain to the House and to the whole world, as the Foreign Secretary failed to do yesterday, that, as long as Gibraltarians wish it, we are in Gibraltar and mean to stay there?

§ The Prime Minister
On the first part of the supplementary question. I have dealt with this fully before. My own visit to Gibraltar suggested that the local authorities in Gibraltar would not be in favour of a transfer to the Home Office. The second point was dealt with by my right hon. Friend yesterday. I am bound to say that I find it particularly nauseating that hon. Members opposite, who tried to make party capital out of our attempt in regard to frigate supplies to Spain, at the very moment when Spain was laying claim to Gibraltar, should show such a deplorable lack of consistency.

§ Mr. Maudling
Is the Prime Minister aware that the answers given by the Foreign Secretary yesterday, to which he has referred, were totally evasive? Will the Prime Minister make it absolutely clear on his own authority, as head of the Government, that the Government will not contemplate a transfer of sovereignty over Gibraltar to Spain against the wishes of the people of Gibraltar?

§ The Prime Minister
As my right hon. Friend said, negotiations are going on. In those circumstances, one cannot give the final answer. I can tell the right hon. Gentleman, however, that Gibraltar is in much safer hands with this Government than with the previous Government.

Mr. Colin Jackson
Would my right hon. Friend take this opportunity, when party politics seem to be involved, at any rate to assure the people of Gibraltar that we appreciate their loyalty and devotion to this country and we shall continue to support them?

§ The Prime Minister
Yes; and, as I have said, we did not herald the attack on Gibraltar and the pressures made by the Spanish Government by entering into a deal of the kind that right hon. Members opposite did for party reasons.

§ Mr. Heath
Is the Prime Minister aware that his equivocation on this matter and his refusal to give the clear assurance for which we have asked him and the Foreign Secretary lead to only one interpretation, which is that he is prepared to hand over the sovereignty of Gibraltar to Spain? Is he aware that this will meet with utmost opposition from the House of Commons and from the people of this country?

§ The Prime Minister
It leads to no such conclusion. The right hon. Gentleman had better await the outcome of the negotiations. Once again he will find that he has gone a little too far ahead of himself. I repeat to the right hon. Gentleman that his position would have been stronger if, when I attacked the frigate deal because of the Gibraltar situation, right hon. Members opposite—[Interruption.] I know that this is embarrassing for them. When I said that this was a dangerous thing to do against the background of Spain putting pressure on Gibraltar, right hon. Members opposite 1388 said that if we took that line we were not even fit to be in opposition.

§ Mr. Heath
Is the Prime Minister aware that it is because of his attitude towards the frigate matter when he was in opposition that so much of the bad blood with Spain has arisen? Is he also aware that, so long as he shows equivocation on this matter, he will not get a sound agreement with Spain? Will he, therefore, confirm the last paragraph of his own White Paper of last year, or will he say whether he now repudiates it?

§ The Prime Minister
There is no repudiation of our White Paper, but negotiations are going on and I would rather we said what we have to say to the Spanish in this matter. There will be plenty of time to tell the House of Commons, and then we may possibly have some appropriate comment from the Leader of the Opposition. But the right hon. Gentleman is quite wrong in saying that the bad blood was caused by the frigate cancellation and that this has led to the Spanish pressure—although the party opposite tried to stir it up, of course. The cancellation of the frigates was not the cause of the pressure. The decision by the Spanish to put pressure on Gibraltar occurred just before the frigate deal was started by right hon. Members opposite.

§ Mr. Braine
In view of the unsatisfactory nature of the reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise this matter on the Adjournment at the earliest opportunity—I hope before the Summer Recess.