The Morecambe & Lunesdale MP David Morris today presented for the first time his Gibraltar (Martime Protection) Bill to the House of Commons. The Bill unanimously progressed through to the Second Reading stage.
Opening the debate David Morris MP said that the Gibraltarian people would take “pride” in the amount of support they have in the House of Commons and did make it clear that he did not want to “anger” Spain, describing Spain as a friend and neighbour. David Morris MP also went on to say that many more MP’s had contacted him to sponsor the Bill other than the required eleven.
Speaking passionately in the House of Commons David Morris MP said:
“It is time for Britain to stand firm and make it clear to Spain what the boundaries should be legally.”
David Morris MP visited Gibraltar recently for the national day celebrations and reported to the House of Commons that Gibraltarians have been waiting for hours on the border with Spain and that British jet skiers had been shot at by the Spanish Gardia using plastic bullets while in Gibraltar’s waters.
The Morecambe & Lunesdale MP also explained that Gibraltar was formally seeded to the UK in the 1713 Utrecht Treaty but the maritime boundaries were not defined in this Treaty. A later Treaty, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of The Sea which was ratified by both the UK and Spain entitles countries to 12 nautical miles from the coast. David Morris said this renders Spain’s claim “baseless in international law.”
The Gibraltar (Maritime Protection) Bill calls for defined boundaries of three nautical miles and will receive its Second Reading on Friday 28th February 2014.
Parliamentary convention dictates that eleven MP’s must sponsor the Bill. David’s Bill has been sponsored by many more than the required eleven.
The required eleven sponsors are:
Alex Shelbrooke MP (Conservative, Elmet and Rothwell)
Andrew Rosindell MP (Conservative, Romford)
Col. Bob Stewart DSE MP (Conservative, Beckenham)
Angus Brendan Mac Neil MP (SNP, Na h-Eileanan an Iar)
Graham Brady MP (Conservative, Altrincham and Sale West)
Nigel Evans MP (Independent, Ribble Valley)
Caroline Dineage (Conservative, Gosport)
Ian Paisley MP (DUP, North Antrim)
Rt. Hon. Sir Gerald Kaufman MP (Labour, Gorton)
Jim Dobbin MP (Labour (Co-op), Heywood and Middleton)
Sir Peter Bottomley MP (Conservative, Worthing West)