The Civil Guard association has accused the Royal Navy and the Gibraltar Police of acting like pirates

The Civil Guard association has accused the Royal Navy and the Gibraltar Police of acting like pirates and say they will denounce those involvedA view of Gibraltar 


A Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that the Spanish government will use ‘the normal diplomatic channels’ to raise the subject of the latest incident between the Gibraltar police and the Civil Guard with the authorities in the UK.

Europa Press reports that the spokesman declined to give any further details of the government’s position on the incident, which happened on Sunday when a Civil Guard patrol boat was chasing drug traffickers from Morocco.

The officers on board say they saw the smugglers on board throwing packages into the sea before they intercepted the boat 3.7 kms from the Gibraltar coast after the chase which commenced 10.8 kms from Europa Point.

Seven boats then arrived from the Gibraltar Customs, the Royal Navy and the Gibraltar Police, who the AUGC Civil Guard Association have accused of acting like ‘pirates’, with alleged attempts by the Gibraltar police and the Royal Navy of attempting to board the Civil Guard boat.

The AUGC claim the Guardia were subject to insults and threats and have announced that they will denounce those they say were involved.

The Gibraltar Chronicle reported that a police vessel suffered minor damage in the incident, claiming that both the Guardia Civil and the Gibraltar Police were chasing the drug traffickers into the bay, and it was during the chase that a police boat collided with one of the Spanish vessels.

In Spain, the Partido Popular has called on the government to make a formal protest to the UK, for what the PP MP José Ignacio Landaluce sees as a ‘very serious’ incident.

PSOE’s Secretary for Organisation, Marcelino Iglesias, was questioned on the matter at a press conference at PSOE headquarters in Madrid after a meeting of the party’s federal executive on Monday. He said it was not discussed at the meeting and he would not make any comment as the information available was not ‘sufficiently complete’.

Iglesias said the party would naturally support any declaration to come from the Foreign Ministry on the matter.