Gibraltar In Stark Warning To Brexiteers

Gibraltar's chief minister has warned Brexit supporters they "will have a lot to answer for" if the UK votes to leave the EU.

Fabian Picardo told Sky News he feared Spain could close the border and threaten the overseas territory sovereignty, with Spain making a power grab if Britain voted to leave the EU.

He said: "The current Spanish foreign minister has been explicit, that [leaving] might mean closing the frontier if Britain were to leave the European Union.

"Not the day after the vote but when the United Kingdom was actually to leave.

"And, if Gibraltar wanted to have access to the single market and the rights we enjoy today of free movement, we would have to once again consider joint sovereignty with Spain which no one in Gibraltar is prepared to consider."

The whole adult population of the tiny overseas territory - 23,000 altogether - will get to vote in the referendum on 23 June.

And the most comprehensive poll carried out by the Gibraltar Chronicle newspaper suggested turnout would be above 80% with more than nine out of every 10 wanting to remain inside the EU.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, but Spain is still keen to claim some territorial control.

The most immediate worry is the border crossing, the only land link to the rest of continental Europe, used by 10,000 workers every day, as well as countless visitors.

While closing the border completely is unlikely, the prospect evokes memories of difficult times for the peninsula when it was closed from 1969 to 1985 under the Franco dictatorship.

Spain could still, however, introduce heavy-handed checks that cause major disruption.

A major dispute over fishing rights three years ago saw aggressive controls introduced that led to six-hour queues at the frontier.

Such checks would pose huge problems for Gibraltar's booming economy, which has seen buoyant growth from financial services and the gambling industry in recent years.

But, however strong their feelings, Gibraltarians are still somewhat powerless when it comes to having a real influence on the referendum decision.

They represent only 0.05% of the total electorate so it will be left to those in Britain, more than 1,000 miles away, who will ultimately be the ones to decide their future.