As grubby tax havens go it's pretty dire. They're welcome to it.

Of course they have to give up the hundreds of jobs it gives to the poor locals too.

As for being "British" well have you tried to get a decent curry or chinky out there ?

There are more than enough British colonies on the Costa Del Sol anyway.

About time they got them pesky vulcans airborne. Last I heard they could only go up and down the runways due to some paperwork problems. Send in the Lightnings!

A white flag on the top of the Eiffel tower.

...is Maggie Thatcher to send another thousand young lads on a jingoistic fools' errand, and to their deaths, so she can be re-elected... Well we've had Gulf II already...

Get prepared, you infidels, the next step is to recover the Spanish Empire and then invade your country, and burn the statue of Nelson. It looks like Internet will finally make justice ;)

Spain's has a small shield in the middle-left of the yellow strip

I'm pretty sure that's not the Spanish flag....

There is only one man who can who can take away Gibraltar from the english.

That man is.... Jack Bauer.

just give them Scotland in return for an extended lease..

let's give it back without telling anyone who lives there..

some one needs to fly the union jack on the Spanish colonie of Ceuta on the other side of the Gibraltar straight

Ceuta needs a Moroccan flag. As does the other one whose name I don't recall.

Hello, Senor Pot. I'm Kettle.

Horatio Hornblower when you need him?.

Melilla's the other Spanish enclave on the Southern shore of the Med.

The truth obout places like the Falklands and Gibraltar, is who lives there and which country do they feel more allegiance to. It is nothing to do with jingoism or any other historical claim.

The people of Gibraltar held a referendum there a couple of years back, and there was overwhelming support for leaving things the way they are. In fact it went further than that, they were prepared to declare independence from Britain in the event that we gave it to Spain, in some shady political deal.

In the case of Gibraltar, its a bit pointless anyway, as we have given our sovereignty away to the EU and pooled it with Spain anyway.

And nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition...

Well put Stephen.

Just wish the obvious was accepted by all.

I doubt the writer notices, but there is something ironic in a news story that fails to recognise a difference between English and British getting sniffy about nationality.

Bootnote

A hearty "huzzah", an extra ration of grog and a signed photo of Lord Nelson for true patriot John Webster, who alerted us to this shameless act of piracy.

[Capt Corcoran] Bosun, in commemoration of this victorious occasion see that extra grog is served to the ship's company at 7 bells.

[Bosun] Begging your pardon, sir. If what?

[Capt Corcoran] "If what?" I don't understand!

[Sir Joseph Porter KCB] The gentleman is quite right - "if you please!"

[Capt Corcoran, through stiff upper lip and gritted teeth] "If - you - please!"

[Sir Joseph Porter KCB]

For I hold that on the seas,

The expression "if you please"

A particularly gentlemanly tone implants -"

[Chorus] And so do his sisters and his cousins and his aunts!

Mark_T>

Well done on your constructive comment. You can indeed get a very nice Curry in Gib and there is at least one decent "Chinese" (speech marks used to indicate that your vocabulary is not appreciated.).

For everyone else,

Apparently a Spanish flag did once fly on the rock, the flag was promptly swapped back, and the offender beaten and kicked back to La Linea.

All your bases belong to us!

Poor, poor Al Tariq must be spinning in his grave to have such a fuss made over a rock named after him !! - Jib Al Tariq

Let's not forget that the country that controls our nukes, deploys our military, owns our media, determines our economic policy and pulls the strings of our Prime Minister is no member of the EU, which despite it's faults at least has the good manners to allow us to vote in it's parliamentary elections.

I'd rather have a democratic legal relationship with foreign countries than a "special" one thanks very much.

We did give the Soanish back Minorca (as part of the Peace of Aimeins), so they should be happy with what they got.

I would say that it would be fair for the Spanish to have Gibraltar if they give us Madrid, Barcelona, and enough sities that the number of people who want to be part of the UK is as great as it is in Gibraltar. And good luck to the Spanish if they can do it.

Maybe the solution would be to destroy their navy again? We don't need Admiral Hornblower, we ned Lord Nelson adn Sir Francis Drake.