11 May 2016•Update: 12 May 2016
LONDON
Gibraltar’s head of government warned on Wednesday about the possible devastating effects of Brexit in the British territory at a press conference with British Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond.
During his first official visit to Gibraltar, Hammond held a meeting with Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.
In a joint statement after the meeting, Hammond and Picardo stressed the possible impact of Brexit on the territory.
“We agreed that remaining in a reformed European Union would ensure both Gibraltar and the UK were stronger, safer and better off,” both said in a joint statement.
"We recognized the vital importance of the EU referendum to Gibraltar and called on all those residents of Gibraltar eligible to vote to have their say in this historic decision,” they added.
Picardo said a possible vote to leave would bring Gibraltar to face, once again, the prospect of joint sovereignty with Spain.
Gibraltar, with a population of around 30,000, was ceded to Britain by Spain under the 1713 treaty of Utrecht. In referenda held in 1967 and 2002, the Gibraltarian public widely rejected proposals for it to be governed by Madrid. Spain, however, continues to press its claims to the territory.
