Theresa May faces Tory backlash as Spain adds Gibraltar demands to Brexit deal

THERESA MAY faces a Tory mutiny after Spain demanded joint management of Gibraltar’s airport as the price of a Brexit deal.

Spain’s foreign minister Alfonso Dastis also said Madrid wanted greater cooperation on tax and tobacco smuggling.

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The demands stop short of a full demand for sovereignty.

But it threatens to spark yet more uproar among Tory backbenchers furious the Government hasn’t stood up to Spain on the issue of the Rock.

Mr Dastis wants an agreement by next month’s crucial EU summit where Britain hopes to seal a Brexit transition deal.

Last year Brussels gave the Spanish government a formal veto over the provisions of any EU-UK Brexit deal that apply to the territory.

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Speaking to the FT, Mr Dastis said he wanted a deal that was as close as possible to the status quo with Britain. But on Gibraltar he said Spain wants an agreement they will “manage the airport together”.

He insisted Spain “has a claim” to the land, claiming it was illegally occupied by the UK.

He added: “We need some more co-operation with the Gibraltar or the UK tax authorities but the situation has already improved.

“The Gibraltarians seem willing to co-operate, we need to see that in practice.”

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