British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday insisted that she would “never” allow Gibraltar to slip from British control against the wishes of Gibraltarians as the issue took centre-stage in early Brexit wranglings.
May told Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo that “we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes.” Her comments came as Spain pledged it would not close its border post-Brexit with the 6.7-square-kilometre (2.6-square-mile) British overseas territory on the southern tip of Spain.
On matters of trade, the European Union has said that Spain would have to agree to extend any deal between the bloc and Britain to also cover Gibraltar.