Spanish police boat enters British waters off Gibraltar before being escorted away

A Spanish police boat has been escorted out of British territorial waters after making a foray into the Bay of Gibraltar.  

The Royal Navy descended on the Rio Guadalete police boat after she repeatedly ignored sovereignty warnings on Thursday.

HMS Dasher, a P2000 Fast Patrol Boat, and a RHIB (rigid inflatable boat) sped out to meet Guadalete and shadowed the Spaniards for around 45 minutes before they sailed for home. 

An FCO spokesman said: ‘We have no doubt about UK sovereignty over British Gibraltar Territorial Waters and protest incursions to the Spanish authorities.’ 

A Spanish police vessel is intercepted by the Royal Navy yesterday

The Spanish police vessel being shadowed by the Royal Navy on Thursday during the standoff

The tensions in the Bay come amid uncertainty over the Rock’s post-Brexit future. 

Under Britain’s deal with the EU, Gibraltar joined the Schengen zone which allows for freedom movement of people.

But despite the agreement, the Spanish have infuriated the Gibraltarians by claiming they can have the final say over who gets to enter the British sovereign territory.

It prompted Chief minister Fabian Picardo to tersely declare ‘this is our land.’

The Spanish foreign ministry has insisted that EU customs officials will now police who enters Gibraltar because the UK has quit Schengen.

Boris Johnson has offered his ‘wholehearted welcome’ to the travel deal with Spain and underscored his commitment to preserving the protection of the interests of Gibraltar and its British sovereignty’.

Schengen covers most of the 27 EU members, along with Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Lichtenstein.

Gibraltar’s arrangement is to remain in place for an initial four-year period. 

With a land area of just 2.6-square miles, Gibraltar is entirely dependent on imports to supply its 34,000 residents 

Even when the UK was in the EU, it never joined Schengen, meaning passports were required to travel to EU member states.

With a land area of just 2.6-square miles, Gibraltar is entirely dependent on imports to supply its 34,000 residents.

A No Deal scenario would have slowed the cross-border movement of goods with new customs procedures.

Border fluidity is also key for some 15,000 people who cross into Gibraltar every day to work, accounting for half of the territory’s workforce. Most are Spanish and live in the impoverished neighbouring area of La Linea.

In the 2016 referendum, Gibraltar voted 96 per cent in favour of remaining in the EU.

Its status as a British overseas territory has always been a thorny issue and remains disputed by Madrid.