Spain threatens to reject draft Brexit deal unless Gibraltar is excluded from EU talks

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said his country will reject the draft Brexit deal unless it makes clear that talks regarding the status of Gibraltar will be considered separately.

Spain holds a claim to Gibraltar, which came under Britain's  control following the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.  The BBC reported that Spain has said it will not agree to the deal unless it is made clear that future talks between the UK and EU do not cover the peninsula.

Sanchez said: "As things stand today if there are no changes regarding Gibraltar, Spain will vote no on Brexit.

"As a country we cannot assume that whatever happens in the future with Gibraltar would be negotiated by the UK and EU – it will have to be negotiated between Spain and the UK," he said.

Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo said: "It's no surprise that we are seeing the Spanish government raise issues at the last minute. The position taken by the Spanish government today does little to build mutual confidence and trust going forward. The language of vetoes and exclusions should be the language of the past. It has no place in the modern Europe of today and a time when both the United Kingdom and Gibraltar are trying to build a new positive relationship with the EU."

Gibraltar said Theresa May had made it clear that the UK will not exclude Gibraltar from the negotiations on the future relationship and repeated that she wants to get a deal that works for the "whole UK family".