Gibraltar government plans referendum

Gibraltar's government is to hold a referendum on British proposals for shared sovereignty with Spain over the colony.

The announcement has been made by Chief Minister Peter Caruana.

The move is aimed at pre-empting negotiations between Britain and Spain before any agreement on the future of the Rock is reached.

It came as Tony Blair confirmed he was ready to share use of Gibraltar's strategically important military base with Spain and other Nato members.

In a TV address to the Gibraltarian people, Mr Caruana denounced the shared sovereignty proposal made by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw as "a betrayal and violation of our right to self-determination".

He said that a referendum in October of the Rock's 20,000 electorate would make clear that any agreement which diluted their British status was unacceptable.

"We cannot risk being seen to have acquiesced in his declaration," warned Mr Caruana. "If we do, the political ground conceded will be consolidated, irretrievably and for all time."

There was "absolutely no prospect whatsoever" of Gibraltar's people accepting joint sovereignty, he said.

Britain has always promised that any agreement to resolve 300 years of wrangling over the Mediterranean outcrop will be subject to a referendum of its people. But Gibraltarians fear that they will be presented with a "done deal" and put under pressure from Britain, Spain and the international community to accept it.

Europe Minister Peter Hain said that Britain would not accept the results of a poll staged by Gibraltar. he told Spanish newspaper El Pais: "We will only recognise the outcome of a referendum which we have helped to organise."