§ Sir W. Teelingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will seek clarification from the Spanish Government of the extent to which the requirements of the second article of the Castiella proposals, dealing with the presence at Gibraltar of a military base, override the requirements of the third article dealing with the protection of the interests of the people of Gibraltar.
§ Mr. MulleyAs the House knows, when the referendum was announced we made clear to the Spanish Government that we were ready to give them facilities to explain the proposals in question. The purpose of this was to offer the Spanish Government an opportunity to clarify all aspects of their proposals. That offer is still open.
§ Sir W. Teelingasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps Her Majesty's Government took before announcing the referendum to invite the Spanish Government to explain its proposals in detail to the people of Gibraltar.
§ Mr. MulleyOn 14th June, before the Referendum announcement was made in the House, I summoned the Spanish Ambassador and told him of Her Majesty's Government's decision to hold the Referendum in Gibraltar. I pointed out that Alternative A of the Referendum referred to the terms proposed by the Spanish Government to Her Majesty's Government on 18th May, 1966, and said 107W that Her Majesty's Government would be ready to consider any observations which the Spanish Government might wish to make on the formulation of this Alternative.