Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)

My Lords, I welcome this Statement and support very much my noble friend Lord Callanan’s comments and questions for clarification. I too have been visiting Gibraltar for many decades, in my initial job and when I was a Member of the European Parliament, so I am aware that, certainly post-Brexit, there have been some issues and some need for clarification in certain areas. I met regularly with Gibraltarian officials and Ministers regarding airspace use and other issues of that nature. Nevertheless, we need to remember that Spain continues to assert its claim over Gibraltar, and it has never ever backed off from that. On the comparison to how we get to the continent, to France or Belgium, using the Eurostar system—namely, with a French immigration officer—it is not the same at all, because you go through that control and then into an EU country. My concern, which we need clarification on, is that I read that a Spanish immigration officer or police officer—whatever you want to call them—will check the British passports of British passport holders and can refuse entry to that British citizen going into a British sovereign territory. That is the difference: we have a Spanish officer refusing a British citizen going into a British Overseas Territory. I would really like some clarification on that. I would obviously welcome seeing the detail that my noble friend asked for on a number of these issues —the devil is always in the detail. Of course, what is important is that the Gibraltarian Government and the citizens of Gibraltar continue to realise that we, as the United Kingdom, will certainly always watch their backs. Should anything arise that is a bit untoward through these negotiations, we need to make sure that we are diligent in the oversight that takes place.