Gibraltar 'is no HK'

Britain yesterday rejected Spanish claims the handover set a precedent for the future of Gibraltar.

Spanish Foreign Minister Abel Matutes said the case of Hong Kong 'is a precedent which will weigh heavily in the future for the decolonisation of Gibraltar', which he said was 'irreversible'.

Speaking on a visit to the Chinese Embassy in Madrid, Mr Matutes said Spain welcomed 'this step forward in decolonisation'. He said it was 'to a large extent a parallel with Gibraltar'.

The British Foreign Office said yesterday there were 'no parallels whatsoever. Gibraltar belongs to the UK.' Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain, was ceded to Britain by the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. A referendum 30 years ago found 99 per cent of its 30,000 inhabitants rejected the idea of Spanish rule.