UK sends third warship as Spanish defend checks that keep cars queuing for four hours as 'legal and proportionate'
Spain is imposing four-hour queues at its border with Gibraltar as a third Royal Navy warship left Portsmouth on Tuesday morning for the British overseas territory.
The delays affecting cars attempting to access the Rock from Spain kept tensions high despite Downing Street signalling that it was preparing a legal challenge to what it described as "politically motivated" controls at the border.
The government of Gibraltar has also said it is also exploring whether it has a legal case against Spain on the basis that the delays on both sides of the border, some as long as seven hours and in 36C heat, infringe the human rights of Gibraltarians. Spanish border guards have been ordering most drivers to stop their cars and open the boots for an inspection, causing a long snake of traffic to build up in La Linea, the fishing port on the Spanish side of the border.
"There have been incoming queues which went up to four hours today," said a spokesman for the Gibraltar government. "There have been reports of up to five hours but we can't confirm that."
The Spanish government defended the checks insisting they are "legal, proportionate and we are obliged to carry them out under the Schengen agreement".
HMS Westminster left port on Tuesday morning and the frigate will join helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious and the Royal Navy flagship HMS Bulwark. While they are part of the long-planned Cougar deployment that also includes another frigate, HMS Montrose, and six Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships, the deployment is ratcheting up tensions with Spain. It is the third time the exercise has taken place, with the aim of demonstrating the UK's ability to operate an effective maritime force anywhere in the world.
David Cameron's spokesman has made clear any legal action would be an "unprecedented step" that would be considered carefully.
"Clearly the prime minister is disappointed by the failure of Spain to remove the additional border checks this weekend," he said. "We are now considering what legal action is open to us."
Spain has attacked Gibraltar for dumping a concrete reef in disputed fishing waters off Gibraltar's main runway. Gibraltar took the action in late July in order to stop Spanish fishing boats from La Linea scouring the seabed for shellfish, a practice Gibraltar considers in breach of maritime agreements and damaging to the ocean environment.
