Gibraltar under attack??

Navy warships dispatched as Spain invades seas around Gibraltar

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 12:26 AM on 24th May 2009

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Royal Navy warships have forced heavily armed Spanish ships to retreat from British waters around Gibraltar.

Relations between the 30,000 residents of the British outpost and mainland Spain have become strained following what the Foreign Office described as 'a violation of British sovereignty'.

The warships were dispatched after Spanish ships sent boarding parties to inspect fishing boats in British waters, despite having no authority to do so.

DISPUTE: Inhabitants are concerned the Spanish authorities want to control the British outpost of Gibraltar

The Rock's inhabitants fear Spain could damage their economy by making moves to seize control of its sea and air traffic.

The incident on May 8 is the latest in a long series since Britain was handed Gibraltar in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

The Spanish Government has refused to recognise that territorial waters were a part of that agreement and made repeated attempts to reclaim them.

For centuries Gibraltar has been a key strategic base for the Royal Navy.

The latest incident followed a day after Gibraltar's government vowed to block EU moves to give responsibility for the environment around the Rock to Spain.

A spokesman for Gibraltar's opposition GSLP/Liberal party said: 'The latest incident is far more serious than anything that has happened before. It represents a frontal challenge to British sovereignty, jurisdiction and control over Gibraltar's territorial sea.

'As such the UK must not only respond to Spain, but must also extract guarantees from Madrid that it will never happen again.'

STAND-OFF: The Royal Navy sent warships to see off Spanish vessels which had entered Gibraltar's waters

The Government said it had made strong protests to Madrid.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: 'It's a violation of British sovereignty and something we take very seriously indeed.

'We hope they will stop doing it.'

Madrid has not yet reacted.

A week before the latest incident a Spanish launch manned by paramilitary police was sent into Gibraltar's waters before being seen off by a Royal Navy patrol boat.