The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office official said to have breached the UK Government mandate in Brexit negotiations over Gibraltar has been identified as the British ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, by sources cited in the Telegraph.

The newspaper says allies of former Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claim Mr Elliott had floated the possibility of permanent "Spanish boots on the ground in Gibraltar” in discussions with his counterparts in Spain.

The reported incident was brought to light by Mr Raab in his letter of resignation as Deputy Prime Minister on Friday following a report on bullying allegations made against him.

Although he did not give any names, Mr Raab said one of the two allegations upheld related to an incident where a senior diplomat breached the mandate agreed by Cabinet during Gibraltar Brexit negotiations. In a subsequent interview with the Telegraph, Mr Raab said the negotiator had put UK sovereignty at risk, and that as Foreign Secretary, he had then made changes to the negotiating team.

Now, the Telegraph has reported that Dominic Raab confronted Hugh Elliott over the incident. It says “the UK Government position at the time was that Spanish police officers or officials should not be permanently stationed in Gibraltar whatever post-Brexit agreement was reached”.

The newspaper reports that Dominic Raab removed Hugh Elliott from the negotiations and replaced him with former UK ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, for the remainder of the talks that ultimately resulted in the New Year’s Eve framework agreement.

The report into the bullying allegations found that Mr Raab made a “legitimate management choice”, but that he implemented it in an intimidating way. For his part, the former Foreign Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister said ministers must be able to exercise direct oversight with respect to senior officials over negotiations on behalf of the British people.

The office of Hugh Elliott has declined to comment, as has the FCDO.

NUMBER SIX RESPONSE

The Chief Minister says Hugh Elliott has been a champion of the cause of Gibraltar and the Gibraltarians since he arrived in Madrid.

Asked for comment by GBC, Fabian Picardo said he had not seen any statement or conduct by Mr Elliott that was anything other than supportive of the positions held by Gibraltar and the UK, or that went against the outcomes they jointly seek. Fabian Picardo said, “Hugh Elliot is a committed patriot and a friend of Gibraltar and the cause of the Gibraltarians”, and that no-one should think otherwise.

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