TNAG-1080-FCO40-1330-Implications-for-Hong-Kong-of-changes-in-the-British-nationa-1981 — Page 16

PERSONAL & CONFIDENTIAL

THE

CONVENT,

GIBRALTAR.

3 We have told the people of Gibraltar that it is HM Government's view that it would be invidious to make an exception of Gibraltar amongst the other dependent territories by granting them British Citizenship. Their counter-argument is that it is equally invidious to have different types of British citizenship within the European Community. They will, for example, in due course have to be represented in the European Parliament. Nevertheless, I recognise that there are at least three objections to giving Gibraltarians a form of British Citizenship instead of Dependent Territories Citizenship. First, Gibraltar is not in fact part of the United Kingdom, and it is a connection with the United Kingdom which is to be the test for British Citizenship. Secondly, the granting of British Citizenship could effect Anglo-Spanish relations adversely, although it could also be argued that Spanish behaviour over the Lisbon Agreement negates any claim to consider- ation of their susceptibilities. And thirdly, a grant of British Citizenship would be a substantial move in the direction of integration, and would have to lead to the loss of the degree of local autonomy over such matters as immigration, naturalisation and right of residence which Gibraltar has enjoyed for many years. I do not think that Gibraltar's leaders, with the exception of the Chief Minister, have given much thought to this point. The Integrationists should of course welcome it, though in practice I suspect they have always envisaged integration with Britain as all take and no give; but Hassan has told me bluntly that no solution to the nationality problem would be acceptable to him and his party which meant losing any part of Gibraltar's present autonomy.

4 From my parochial point of view I see the force of the Gibraltar claim that if they are EC nationals they should have the same citizenship as other British Citizens; and indeed, this would provide the statutory basis for the Gibraltarians' right to settle in Britain. Nevertheless, I do recognise that dif- ficulties in keeping the door shut against other claimants, for example Hong Kong, if Gibraltar is let through, and your own worries about the possible effect on Anglo-Spanish relations. We have therefore looked rather more deeply at the second option.

5

It was encouraging to see the amount of support given in the Commons to the idea that each Dependent Territory should be given its own national identity. The title of citizenship is much more than just a matter of sentiment. If we do not want the people of Gibraltar to be British Citizens we must give them some specific status which safeguards their identity, and, I would add, which they can also be proud of. They cannot aspire to indepen- dence, and hence to changing their citizenship in that way. Because the option of independence is not there, it is likely in the longer term to be particularly important to the Gibraltarians to be more than simply British Dependent Territories Citizens at large. I think there are two ways of tackling this. The first

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