Tory MP John Whittingdale has found himself on the frontline of the row between Spain and the UK. Originally in Gibraltar to investigate gambling, the Chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee is staying to talk to residents and report back on the conflict.
I hope he has a little more success at international diplomacy than one of his colleagues did when visiting The Rock in 2002. It was well reported at the time that a British Royal Marine training exercise went badly wrong, when in bad weather heavily armed marines stormed the wrong beach. As the Guardian reported at the time:
‘The platoon of some 30 marines stormed from a landing craft on to the San Felipe beach in the Spanish town of La Linea, carrying 60mm mortars and SA80 assault rifles, and took up defensive positions on the sand.
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