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BREXIT

OPINION: The post-Brexit cabinet reshuffle does little to reassure Brits in Europe

Sue Wilson, chair of Bremain in Spain, studies the spring-clean in Westminster and asks whether Boris Johnson's new cabinet is really intent on healing divisions for post-Brexit Britons.

OPINION: The post-Brexit cabinet reshuffle does little to reassure Brits in Europe
PM Boris Johnson chairs the first cabinet meeting after the reshuffle.Matt Dunham/Pool/AFP

British and Spanish residents here in Spain have been spotted eating and drinking outdoors over the last few days, thanks to the atypical spring weather we have been experiencing. Admittedly, the Spanish are still wearing their coats and boots, while the Brits are in short sleeves and even, in some cases, in shorts!

The romance of St. Valentine’s Day has been and gone, though bunches of flowers are still on display in many homes. Now we can look forward to carnival season. Perhaps, if this clement weather holds, those scantily-clad women dressed in little more than bikinis and feathers, will not be suffering such a chill this year.

Whilst we have been making the most of the Spanish weather, back in the UK, despite the cold, there has been some rather drastic spring-cleaning in Westminster.

On Thursday February 13th, Boris Johnson, with more than a little help from Dominic Cummings, reshuffled his cabinet. There had been rumours beforehand that a major cull was expected, with journalists suggesting we could expect a Valentine’s Day massacre, especially of female cabinet members.

Casualties on the day included Andrea Leadsom, Theresa Villiers, Esther McVey and Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox.

The new Attorney General is Suella Braverman – a staunch Brexiter who has been critical of the role the judiciary played in the Brexit journey. Her appointment has been widely criticised, especially on social media. However, there’s little doubt that her plan to ‘take back control’ from the courts will be popular with many staunch leavers.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the resignation of Chancellor Sajid Javid. Expected to stay in post, he chose to step down when conditions attached to him keeping his job became clear – namely that he must sack all his advisors and see them replaced by Downing St. appointments. Javid said, “no self-respecting minister” could accept the prime minister’s terms.

Despite Javid’s principled stand, no doubt his resignation will have ensured that those advisors he aimed to protect will also now be out on their ears.

The speed with which Javid was replaced by the relatively unknown and inexperienced Rishi Sunak, had many pundits suggesting this was all part of the Cummings plan. With Sunak now “in charge” at the Treasury, it would appear that Downing Street has effectively made yet another power grab, this time on the Treasury.

I won’t bother to name the new cabinet faces as I suspect that, like any but the most avid followers of UK politics, those names won’t mean anything to anyone. I believe there is no truth to the rumour that at the first meeting of the new cabinet on Friday, all were asked to wear name tags to identify themselves to each other, and perhaps to the prime minister.

It seems clear that the aim of the cabinet reshuffle is for the prime minister to surround himself with pliable, inexperienced colleagues who will fawn and agree – a gallery of yes-men and yes-women.

Johnson has never been one to appreciate a variety of views, and his attitude towards his colleagues seems akin to his attitude to the media. Don’t let them in the room if they are going to challenge, disagree or criticise. How very Trumpian.

One face you may well remember, who is now back in the cabinet fold, is Stephen Barclay – now in a new role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury. Barclay was formerly head of the now defunct DExEU – the Department for Exiting the European Union. In theory, he therefore knows more about the Brexit negotiations than most. I did say, in theory!

What the make-up of the new cabinet will mean with regards to the ongoing negotiations or the rights of British citizens in Europe is, at this stage, anyone’s guess. Regardless of the personalities though, we must remain vigilant and continue to hold our government to account. They seem determined to proceed with their reckless plans regardless, and with as little scrutiny as possible.

The knowledge that certain rights are protected thanks to the Withdrawal Agreement is a great relief to many, even if the pain of leaving the EU still hangs very heavily. We must not let our government, or our parliament forget there are still so many of our rights at risk.

I had hoped that, in the spirit of healing the divisions, the cabinet reshuffle would have resulted in a more representative range of opinions and positions. The prime minister is quick to call on the public to kiss and make up and put the damage and division of the last four years behind us.

Maybe we will find it easier to do so when we see evidence of an example being set by those that supposedly speak for us.

By Sue Wilson – Chair of Bremain in Spain

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GIBRALTAR

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spain has expelled four Royal Navy servicemen who crossed the Spain-Gibraltar border on foot three times in a single day while dressed in civilian clothing, with Spanish media claiming they were checking the porosity of the border.

UK soldiers expelled from Spain after crossing from Gibraltar posing as tourists

Spanish police expelled four British soldiers from Spain on Monday night, removing them from the country and sending them back to Gibraltar after it emerged that the four Royal Navy personnel had entered Spain illegally while “posing as tourists”, as the Spanish press has reported.

The incident comes a week after the British Navy carried out military drills in the waters surrounding Gibraltar, the British overseas territory that Spain still claims sovereignty of, and amid the seemingly never-ending negotiations between Spain and the UK to finally settle a post-Brexit deal.

READ ALSO: Gibraltar Brexit deal ‘close’ as Brits crossing into Spain use fake bookings

The expulsions, now reported in the Spanish press by Europa Sur and confirmed to El Periódico de España by official sources, occurred after the four soldiers arrived in Gibraltar on a civilian flight and entered into Spain. They also had return tickets via Gibraltar.

They then reportedly passed themselves off as tourists and entered Spain on foot, staying at a four-star hotel in La Línea de la Concepción, the town in the Cádiz province of Andalusia that borders Gibraltar.

Stranger yet is that they crossed the border at La Línea on up to three occasions in the space of a few hours.

READ ALSO: What Brits need to know before crossing the border from Gibraltar to Spain

Spanish authorities detected their presence because two of the soldiers tried to return to Gibraltar at night.

At the border, Spanish police officers enquired as to the reason for their entry, to which the soldiers replied that they were on their way to work and brandished British military documentation.

The police decided that their entry into Spain had been irregular because they did not meet the Schengen Borders Code requirements demanded of non-EU citizens entering EU territory.

According to Europa Sur, Spanish police then asked the two soldiers to call their colleagues in the hotel in order to collect their luggage and return to Gibraltar, which took place at midnight on Monday 18th March.

The Spanish press has stated that it is common for soldiers to try to stay in Spanish territory by concealing their military status and entering while posing as tourists.

The motive for the soldiers’ presence, particularly their repeated trips across the border, remains unknown.

The military drills in the area seem to suggest that the soldiers may have taken part in or be due to take part in further exercises and wanted to enter as tourists.

Spanish media also suggests that they could have been testing the porosity of the border, though these claims remain unsubstantiated.

Gibraltar’s post-Brexit status still remains unresolved. The EU and UK government are now onto their 18th round of treaty negotiations after the framework agreement between London and Madrid made on New Year’s Eve 2020 essentially ‘fudged’ the border issue, leaving Gibraltar’s status within the Schengen area undefined.

Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said in late-2023 that “we are very, very close” to finalising a Brexit agreement.

“I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow,” Albares told journalists at the time. Yet no agreement was made, despite the Minister’s positivity, nor the appointment of former UK Prime Minister David Cameron as Foreign Secretary.

Albares’ comments came at a time when it was reported in the Spanish press that many UK nationals have been using fake hotel bookings in order to try and bypass the Schengen rules and trick their way through border checks.

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