"Today's illegal incursion by a Spanish naval vessel is a timely demonstration of the way in which Spain routinely conducts itself in breach of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea", a spokesman for Gibraltar's government said.
"All we know is that when Spain historically has been in a position to make life more hard, it has tended to do so", said Montegriffo, managing director of BMI Group, whose family has lived on the rock for 250 years or more.
"Gibraltar is not a bargaining chip in these negotiations".
Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said "the Spanish government is a little surprised, actually, by the tone that has been generated in Britain, a country traditionally known for its composure".
Downing Street has explicitly ruled out that Brexit Britain will go to war with Spain over Gibraltar - an extraordinary step made necessary after some sabre-rattling by a former Conservative leader.
Spain has a long-standing territorial claim on Gibraltar, which has been held by the United Kingdom since 1713 and has the status of a British overseas territory.
In 1704 a fleet of English and Dutch ships captured the town during the War of the Spanish Succession and it was granted to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht.
It has been revealed that the EU's draft paper on its Brexit strategy said no deal on its future relationship with the United Kingdom would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain, an European Union member, giving it a potential veto, reports, the The Guardian.
"These actions effectively defend our sovereignty over British Gibraltar territorial waters".
Russia and Iran affirm commitment to Syrian government
The United States is now likely to be more aggressive in pursuing intelligence about Syria's suspected chemical weapons programme. Assad's Russia-backed regime and framed the Syria problem as an issue of eliminating the Islamic State.
Gibraltar is a place in Europe, on the south coast of Spain.
A former leader of May's Conservative Party, Michael Howard, took the rhetoric up a few notches, saying that Britain would go to war against Spain for Gibraltar if necessary, just as Margaret Thatcher did against Argentina in 1982 over the Falkland Islands.
After all, some 10,000 Spaniards cross the frontier to work in Gibraltar every day, aiding a border region plagued by unemployment.
Voters in Gibraltar, a strategically important rocky outpost at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, rejected the idea of Britain sharing sovereignty with Spain by 99 percent to 1 percent in 2002, but overwhelmingly backed remaining in the European Union in June's Brexit referendum.
Asked if he was "seriously suggesting" going to war with Spain, Lord Howard told Channel 4 News: "Of course not", b ut he blamed the European Union for the row and added: "I can see no harm in reminding them what kind of people we are". In a 2002 referendum, 99 per cent of the populace voted against the idea of Britain and Spain sharing sovereignty over the territory.
But what do the Gibraltarians have to say about it?
Gibraltar is not on the negotiating table, let us make that fact clear to Mr Tusk, and we can then hopefully get on with the real task of negotiating Brexit.
Gibraltar has a population of 32,000 and about 96 percent of residents voted to remain in the European Union a year ago.
Comments