Gibraltar border delays prompt UK complaint to Spain

The UK government has raised "serious concerns" with Spain about delays at the Gibraltar border due to increased vehicle searches over the weekend.

Gibraltar said Spain had created "deliberate" delays of up to six hours for vehicles travelling to and from the British territory since Friday. Foreign Secretary William Hague called the Spanish foreign minister on Sunday. Gibraltar said the delays were "linked" to an artificial reef created to block fishing, but Spain has not commented.

The weekend's delays were not repeated on Monday morning. The Royal Gibraltar Police tweeted there were no queues to leave Gibraltar and a "normal queue" to enter.Spain disputes UK sovereignty over Gibraltar, a limestone outcrop on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula, which has been ruled by Britain since 1713. Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said Spanish border officers were "just trying to create a delay by pretending to search" vehicles.

There has been tension between Spain and Gibraltar over fishing rights, and Mr Picardo said the reef had been built to "prevent Spanish fishermen fishing in a manner that is contrary to our law".

Spanish newspaper ABC reported that the Spanish government had made a formal complaint to the British about the work, saying the several dozen spiked concrete blocks could tear fishing nets, scare fish away and cause environmental damage.

On Friday and Saturday, Spanish customs officers stopped thousands of vehicles trying to leave Gibraltar for Spain. On Sunday the delays switched to traffic trying to enter the British territory.

There were delays of nearly six hours for those leaving Gibraltar on Saturday in temperatures of 30C (86F).

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