Former NI Minister Mo Mowlam Questions UK Policy On Gibraltar

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

27 March 2002

Former Northern Ireland Minister Mo Mowlam has expressed concerns over the UK government's treatment of Gibraltar.

Northern Ireland has been used in the past as the model for a potential solution to the Gibraltarian sovereignty dispute - under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, Dublin dropped its formal claim to Northern Ireland and accepted a policy of consent.

However, the Spanish authorities have made it clear that joint sovereignty is not part of their long-term plan, yet the UK appears to be coming round to that perspective, much to the confusion of the former UK cabinet minister.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Ms Mowlam asked: 'Why are we negotiating with the Spanish without taking into consideration the views of those living there [in Gibraltar]?'

She stressed that consultation with the people played a major part in the Northern Ireland talks, and observed that: 'We certainly listened to the opinions of the Falkland Islanders, at great expense to the British taxpayers. Why is Gibraltar so different?'

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