Gibraltar Olive Press - Issue 66

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Est. 1946

www.gibraltarolivepress.com LT D

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The Rock’s original community newspaper

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46 Irish Town, Gibraltar Tel: +350 200 75188 Email: bia@gibraltar.gi Facebook: GibraltarBIA

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Vol. 3 Issue 66 www.gibraltarolivepress.com March 14th - March 27th 2018

NOT GUILTY: Riddell

Post boss cleared of rape THE ex-boss of Gibraltar’s postal service has been cleared of two rape charges. Christopher Riddell was found not-guilty of raping a woman he met at the Seawave restaurant. A Supreme Court jury returned a unanimous verdict that he had not forced her to have sex after walking her home from the Catalan Bay eaterie in March 2016

Vigorous

The former Post Office CEO, 54, had allegedly raped her while she looked for her house keys. He claimed that he had consensual sex with the woman, who had been the ‘driving force’ behind the ‘vigorous’ outdoor sex. Riddell had told the court: “Before you completely ruin someone’s life, please look at the logical facts here,” he said. He gave no statement following the trial.

SPANISH police have again expressed their concerns over a creeping lawlessness in the Campo de Gibraltar area. It comes after a pair of masked men attempted to torch two new patrol boats in Algeciras. In the brazen 6.45am attack, the pair managed to pour petrol into one of the vessels, while anchored in port. Fortunately a security guard was able to stop them setting the boat alight, but the pair were able to flee, shouting: “Sooner or later we will burn them.” The latest drug-related incident comes just days after an off-duty Guardia Civil officer was attacked in broad daylight by a group of drug smugglers in La Linea. The officer had spotted a group of smugglers unloading bales of drugs while he was driving home after his shift. When the group realised they had

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Women on the Rock recount their harrowing stories of being forced to have abortions in Spain as campaign launched to change draconian outdated law

March 14th - March 27th 2018

Now, we’ll torch your boats!

ARSON ATTEMPT: By drug gang

been spotted they set upon the officer and his car, demonstrating a ‘growing fearlessness of the Spanish authorities’. Fortunately the officer escaped unharmed but the gang smashed his rear windscreen before he could drive off. A spokesman from the Spanish Association for the Guardia Civil has once more demanded that more police are

sent to the region. “We are living in the same situation that occurred years ago in the Basque Country: officers do not want to be sent there because of the alarming insecurity,” the spokesman said. “We still do not understand why the Ministry of the Interior has not dealt with the serious security problem throughout the area.”

We WON’T be pawns! By Joe Wallen

THE leader of the Liberal Democrat party fears Gibraltar could be ‘sacrificed’ to get a better Brexit deal. Vince Cable insists Gibraltarians must not become ‘sacrificial pawns’ in the knife-edge negotiations with the EU. In a damning analysis of Prime Minister Theresa May’s muddled Brussels position, Sir Vince insists the EU will end up dictating terms.

Chief Minister joins Lib Dem leader to demand that Gibraltar must not be sacrificed for better Brexit deal He said the UK’s ‘very weak’ negotiating position was leading to considerable anxiety in Gibraltar about the issue of joint sovereignty. “If the government is going to take a tough

line on Brexit in these negotiations, this is one of the things they should be tough about,” he said. “Currently they have been very, very weak and created an enormous sense of anxiety

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and insecurity. “It is an issue of fundamental principle, Gibraltar has been attached to the UK for two centuries. “We have seen off repeated demands by Spain to have control over the Rock. “We should not allow Brexit to be used as a cloak for giving away what is a substantial British commitment.”

Afraid

He added: “The Gibraltarian Government is afraid that their people – our people, British citizens – will be sacrificial pawns in this needless rush for the EU exit door.” His concerns were backed up by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, when he insisted sovereignty should not be ‘bartered’ with. He told BBC Radio 4: “You don’t barter with sovereignty today… what you do is look at the interests of people, you talk to people and ask them what matters for the future.” Politicians in the UK have

also demanded the government reject any Spanish veto over aspects of the deal signed between the EU and UK. Currently Spain can veto any future UK/EU trade agreement relating to Gibraltar, according to Clause 24 of the EU’s negotiating guidelines. Despite ongoing uncertainty Picardo has vowed to work with his Spanish counterparts in the Campo to mitigate any negative fallout from Brexit. “Let’s make Brexit the success we didn’t choose and promote that it should create a rainbow of opportunities for Gibraltar and the Campo,” he wrote on social media.

Opportunity

Spanish thinktank the Elcano Royal Institute has echoed Picardo’s optimism, stating that Brexit offers the UK and Spain a unique opportunity to decide on a new status for Gibraltar that it hopes will benefit all parties.


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