MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar Breaking News.

Headlines:
Britain's commitment to Gibraltar unchanged; Spain presses for nuclear sub reassurance; MPs urge Hoon to halt Mod reorganization.

Britain's commitment to Gibraltar unchanged

United Kingdom's commitment to Gibraltar is not going to change but the Ministry of Defence will need the help of the local Government and workforce, Commander British Forces Commodore Allan Adair declared Monday. In answer to questions whether the MoD would consider a gradual or total pull-out of Gibraltar in a situation of generalised industrial unrest that affected operational requirements of the military base, Commodore Adair replied that they would "have to tackle that when it came. if it ever comes." To illustrate Britain's commitment to the Rock, he pointed to the investment of £60 million in the new integrated medical services at Devil's Tower Camp that will take the place of RN Hospital and other MoD health facilities around Gibraltar. "We would not be spending this amount of money and handing over to the Gibraltar Government the RNH and the remainder of the prime site at Waterfront if we were not intending to stay here," he added.

Spain presses for nuclear sub reassurance

Miguel Angel Moratinos, Spanish Foreign Minister has reiterated that he expects Britain to provide him with written reassurances regarding repairs on nuclear submarines at Gibraltar. Spain expects Britain to state that it will not repair nuclear sections of submarines in Gibraltar. The call comes in the wake of HMS Tireless episode and environmentalist lobbying in neighbouring Campo. However Commodore Allan Adair, CBF, denied that Britain would be giving a written assurance to the Spanish Government ruling out future nuclear submarine repairs in Gibraltar. "Gibraltar is an operational base and although we never plan to carry out nuclear repairs if we had to we would. We would inform interested parties on both sides of the border. Clearly we are not choosing to send nuclear submarines to Gibraltar to annoy a NATO ally, Spain, but for operational reasons", Commodore Adair told the Gibraltar Chronicle. Mr. Moratinos is quoted as having said that Spain could not stop the visits because of the Treaty of Utrecht but he said that Spanish military observers were to be mobilised to ensure civilian safety. He also reiterated that recovery of sovereignty of Gibraltar remains Spain's objective.

MPs urge Hoon to halt Mod reorganization

Following the meeting last week in the Houses of Parliament in London between Gibraltar Chief Minister, Peter Caruana and the All Party Parliamentary Gibraltar Group, the following is the text of a letter sent by the Group, signed by one of its Vice Presidents, Simon Hughes MP, to Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon. "A number of House of Commons colleagues from all three major parties and from Northern Ireland, and colleagues from the Lords (all members of the All Party Parliamentary Gibraltar Group), met together this week before parliament was prorogued. We had previously been briefed by the Chief Minister of Gibraltar who was in London and who had also come to answer our questions on the attitude of the Gibraltar government, MoD employees and the public in Gibraltar to the reorganisation of the MoD in Gibraltar. Colleagues across the parties here are greatly concerned. We therefore write to request that you and HMG agree to proceed no further with the current plans until after an early opportunity is taken following the general election to seek an agreement as to the way forward by the workforce, their unions and your department. Only a few weeks ago, government here agreed that proposals for changing arrangements for work and pensions across the public sector in the UK would not after all be implemented until there had been a further opportunity to negotiate an agreed solution with the workers and unions concerned. These negotiations will clearly begin after the general elections. We ask for a similar approach by you and by the MoD as far as Gibraltar is concerned. Our understanding is that the trade unions and the work force in Gibraltar fully accept that the government has the right to seek efficiency savings in the activities of the MoD in Gibraltar. We understand also that they have at no time said that they will not co-operate in seeking to agree a way of achieving these efficiencies. There is however real anger and frustration, shared by your parliamentary colleagues here, that government has simply announced its intentions as a done deal and in a way that would not only involve the contractorisation of the majority of the jobs but a prospective further loss of several hundred jobs as well. The effect on pay, pensions, job security, employment and the wider economy of Gibraltar as a whole is of course extremely serious. Colleagues in the Lords and all those of us in the Commons who are re-elected are very willing to meet with you (or your successor if you were to be replaced) at the earliest possible opportunity after parliament reconvenes on May 14th. We do hope you will take our very strongly felt request with the seriousness we send it. We look forward to a reply which we hope will confirm that this request can be granted".