Royal Navy used 'Spanish flag' for target practice off Gibraltar

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Royal Navy used 'Spanish flag' for target practice off Gibraltar
Giles Paxman, Britain's ambassador to Madrid, has apologised after the Royal Navy fired on a buoy bearing the red and yellow of the Spanish flag during target practice off Gibraltar.


By Fiona Govan in Madrid
Published: 4:04PM GMT 20 Nov 2009
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Gibraltar was ceded to the British under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht but Spain has never relinquished its claim of sovereignty. Photo: Jon Mills/PA

The diplomatic incident, which occurred amid mounting tensions in the sea around the British colony, was triggered when the crew of a Civil Guard vessel reported spotting the fast patrol boat Scimitar firing at the "Spanish colours" during a military exercise in international waters.

Giles Paxman, 58, the younger brother of the BBC broadcaster Jeremy Paxman, was summoned to Spain's foreign ministry less than a month after taking up his new post as British Ambassador.

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While he insisted the flag on top of the buoy used in the target practice was not in fact a Spanish flag, he apologised for what he called a lack of judgement by the British navy.

A statement issued by Spain's foreign ministry said: "The ambassador insisted that, however it may have appeared, it did not represent the flag of Spain.

"He presented his apologies for an error of judgement and the lack of sensibility shown and promised to launch an investigation and to take the necessary measures to ensure that incidents of this kind will not be repeated."

The British Embassy made no further comment.

In London, the Ministry of Defence acknowledged the striking resemblance between the Spanish national flag and the signal marker chosen for the routine exercise. Both have two red horizontal stripes separated by yellow. But a spokesman said the similarity had not been deliberate.

"HMS Scimitar was using Flag No1 during gunnery practice, traditionally chosen due to its high visibility," said a spokesman. "However we recognise its similarity to the Spanish national flag and will use an alternative marker during gunnery practice in this area in the future."

Gibraltar was ceded to the British under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht but Spain has never relinquished its claim of sovereignty and refuses to accept Britain's jurisdiction of the waters that surround it.

Relations between Spain and the tiny peninsula at its southwestern point have been tense in recent months despite a tripartite forum agreement aimed at improving communications.

In May the Royal Navy forced a Spanish naval patrol to retreat from British waters in a dispute over authority to inspect fishing vessels.

The British Embassy later delivered a formal complaint to the Spanish government over the issue.

After new incursions in July, the government of Gibraltar urged all users of the waters to ignore Spanish patrol ships and send up distress flares if approached.

 

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Jeremy Paxman's diplomat brother apologises after Royal Navy 'uses Spanish flag for target practice'

By Ian Drury
Last updated at 10:32 AM on 21st November 2009

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The Royal Navy was accused yesterday of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target.

Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar.

He was summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry for a dressing down and officials said he had conceded there had been an 'error of judgement'.

But the ambassador - who has been in post for just a month - denied that the crew of HMS Scimitar had been insulting Spain's flag.
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Jeremy Paxman

Jeremy Paxman's brother Giles, left, has been forced to apologise for the incident

Instead, he told them the sailors had actually been firing at Nato's maritime flag for the number '1' which shares the same distinctive colours.

Mr Paxman promised an investigation into the incident.

But diplomatic sources said Madrid was taking revenge following a spat in May when the Royal Navy forced a Spanish naval ship to retreat after it was caught inspecting fishing vessels in British territorial waters around the colony.
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The UK's ambassador in Madrid was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar

A statement released by the Spanish Foreign Ministry said: 'The British ambassador has apologised for this error of judgement and the lack of sensibility shown and has promised to open a thorough investigation.'

A spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid said: 'We can confirm the British ambassador has been called in to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

'They have put a statement out. We're aware of the wording and we have nothing further to say.'

The incident happened on Tuesday morning seven miles off Gibraltar when a Spanish police patrol boat witnessed officers on HMS Scimitar reeling in a red-and-yellow flag on a buoy.

The Guardia Civil claimed in a official report that two machine guns were trained on the flag - but admitted they had not seen any shots fired.

The Spanish police also said they were warned by loudspeaker as they approached: 'You are not allowed here, these are international waters, leave immediately.'

They told their superiors that this was an desperate attempt by the Navy to keep them at a distance while they concealed evidence that sailors had been defiling 'Spanish colours'.

An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted the Spanish had been mistaken, but pledged to take action so a row did not flare in future. wait 2 secs to reload the image

The incident is alleged to have taken place five nautical miles from Gibraltar

He said: 'HMS Scimitar was using Flag No1 during gunnery practise – not the Spanish national flag. Flag No1 is traditionally used on gunnery targets due to its high visibility however we recognise its similarity to the Spanish national flag and will use an alternative marker during gunnery practise in this area in the future.'

The latest spat comes amid simmering tensions in Straits of Gibraltar between Spanish police boats and the Royal Navy's two-vessel Gibraltar Patrol Boat Squadron.

Relations between the countries soured in the spring when the British Embassy in Madrid made an official complaint over a Spanish navy ship inspecting fishing boats in British waters.

After new incursions in July, the government of Gibraltar urged all ships to ignore Spanish patrol ships - and send up distress flares if approached.

Gibraltar was seized by British and Dutch Marines after fierce fighting in 1704, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.

But Spain has defiantly refused to recognise the agreement, which includes territorial waters three miles around the Rock, and has repeatedly tried to reclaim them.

It is not the first military mix-up between the two nations in recent years.

In 2002, British Marines inadvertently invaded Spain after storming the wrong beach during a training exercise.

Twenty troops, armed and in full battle order, poured from their landing craft and charged up a beach.

Thanks to a monumental navigational blunder, they had managed to invade the Spanish town of La Linea, which lies on the frontier with Gibraltar.

They thought they were invading Gibraltar as part of a military exercise and were expecting strong opposition from other British troops.

But they were confronted by sunbathers and two Spanish police officers. After acknowledging the mistake, they reboarded their craft and sailed to their proper destination.


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UK 'sorry' for shooting at 'Spanish flag' buoy
By Steve Kingstone
BBC News, Madrid
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The Spanish flag is similar in colour to signal Flag No1, used in the exercise

The UK has apologised to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the Spanish colours for target practice.

The exercise took place off the coast of Gibraltar earlier this week. The UK ambassador was summoned to the foreign ministry in Madrid to explain.

According to local reports, the navy hastily removed the buoy, which had a red-and-yellow marker, when approached by a Spanish police launch on Tuesday.

Ambassador Giles Paxman conceded it was insensitive and an error of judgement.

While acknowledging that the target had appeared "similar" to the Spanish flag, he insisted that was not what it was supposed to represent.

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And he assured his hosts there would be no repetition of the incident.

Later the UK Ministry of Defence clarified that the colours were those of a maritime signal flag used by Nato.

"HMS Scimitar was using Flag No1 during gunnery practice - not the Spanish national flag," a spokesperson said.

"Flag No1 is traditionally used on gunnery targets due to its high visibility - however, we recognise its similarity to the Spanish national flag and will use an alternative marker during gunnery practice in this area in the future."

Gibraltar remains the lingering source of tension in an otherwise good relationship between the UK and Spain.

The UK claims a radius of three nautical miles around the Rock of Gibraltar as British territorial waters.

Spain disputes this, and in recent months there have been bad-tempered verbal exchanges between the Royal Navy and the Spanish police.

Spain's main opposition Popular Party has urged the government to demand what it calls the "respect that Spain deserves".