Spain threatens safety of Gibraltar Chief Minister

Thinly veiled threats from Spain of ‘going for' Chief Minister Fabian Picardo have been condemned by the Gibraltar Government. And the Gibraltar Government also said that if Spanish secret police were to operate in Gibraltar this would cause a major diplomatic incident.

Last week, the often sensationalist Spanish on-line newspaper El Confidencial published an article entitled "Los secretos de Picardo" written by Graciano Palomo.

The article quoted a senior Spanish Minister has having said the following referring to the Chief Minister: "This guy has crossed the line, we are going to go for him..." The article adds that the Spanish secret services have now for some time been following Mr Picardo's footsteps."

No 6's statement said that "this is something that could possibly explain a number of peculiar coincidences that have manifested themselves recently".

The Government says it considers that the allegations contained in this article "constitute a threat against the person of Mr Picardo for his efforts as Chief Minister of Gibraltar and it roundly condemns these comments without reservation. It would also cause a grave diplomatic incident if the security services of a foreign country were found to be operating in Gibraltar."

The Government says it will be taking legal advice on this matter as well as making a report to the Royal Gibraltar Police.

Ends

From the Gibraltar Chronicle 15 Oct 2013