The UK, Spain and Gibraltar have agreed to “step up” law enforcement cooperation at sea, including exchanging evidence to ensure criminals can be effectively prosecuted.
The agreement is the result of a week of furious diplomatic contacts at the highest levels in the wake of last Saturday’s incident at sea, in which Spanish customs officers fired warning shots while trying to board a local vessel in British waters.
The Gibraltar Government has been working closely with UK ministers and officials from the outset and cautiously accepts the development as a positive step.
Last Saturday’s incident focused minds on the urgent need to defuse tensions at sea. It also highlighted the need to ensure that law enforcement agencies can cooperate effectively.
The British Government has secured an admission from Spain that shots were fired and that this will not happen again.
“We remain deeply concerned at the fact that live shots are now confirmed to have been fired during this incident and we have been reassured by the Spanish Government that safety of lives at sea is a top priority for all concerned and their law enforcement agencies will operate with the utmost respect for this principle in order that this is fully upheld in the future,” a Foreign & Commonwealth Office spokesman said last night.
But while this is an important recognition of the seriousness of last weekend’s events and the need to avoid a repetition, the most significant development relates to law enforcement cooperation.
“Without prejudice to our respective positions on questions of sovereignty and jurisdiction, it has been agreed to step up law enforcement cooperation in the fight against organised crime, including through timely co-operation and notification by the various seaborne agencies of pursuits of vessels involved in illegal activities to ensure effective action against criminals and a commitment to a mutual provision and exchange of evidence in order to better facilitate the successful prosecution of criminals in the relevant courts and tribunals,” the Foreign Office statement said.
Spain’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs issued a statement on similar lines, although it spoke of agreement to “explore formulas” to improve cooperation “that could include” timely cooperation and appropriate notification “by the competent authorities” of criminal activities.
The aim, according to the Spanish statement, would be to “guarantee joint action” in the fight against criminality, “...as well as maintain a commitment to the mutual exchange of evidence in order to facilitate the effective prosecution [of those criminals] in the competent courts and tribunals.”
The developments were agreed late last night and were welcomed by the Gibraltar Government, which underscored the seriousness of the “unacceptable” incident last Saturday.
“Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar cannot accept that there was any valid reason which could have justified the firing of live shots, which has now been officially confirmed, and which created a risk of danger to life. It should never have happened,” No 6 Convent Place said in a statement.
“The express commitment by Spain to operate with safety of lives at sea as a priority should always be a ‘sine qua non’ of law enforcement at sea in the Bay of Gibraltar and elsewhere.”
“For that reason, recognition, even on a without prejudice basis, of the need to step up co-operation will be welcomed by all law abiding citizens in the UK, Spain and Gibraltar.”
“The additional statement reflecting the need for timely notifications of pursuits at sea is potentially also highly significant.”
“The further commitment to the mutual provision and exchange of evidence in order to better facilitate the successful prosecution of criminals in the relevant courts and tribunals is potentially also a step forward.”
The Gibraltar Government nonetheless cautioned that, while it welcomed the agreement, the important thing was how it would work in practice.
“We shall wait and see whether after these statements by the three governments anything changes operationally,” it said.
“Gibraltar’s excellent law enforcement agencies will as ever continue to work to ensure that organised criminals are thwarted whenever they may enter our jurisdiction, whether on land or at sea and stand ready as always to cooperate with the law enforcement agencies of all nations operating around BGTW.”