Spain's conservative press blast 'humiliating' Gibraltar visit

Spain's conservative newspapers sharply criticised the historic visit by the country's foreign minister to Gibraltar, calling it a "humiliating rendition" after "300 years of struggle" to regain the sovereignty of the British-run territory.

With the visit by Miguel Angel Moratinos on Tuesday to the rocky outcrop, the first by a Spanish minister since it was captured by English troops in 1704, "the government squandered in one day 300 years of the struggle for Gibraltar", wrote daily ABC.

"The photo of shame," headlined centre-right El Mundo over a photo of Mr Moratinos shaking hands with his British counterpart David Miliband and Gibraltar chief minister Peter Caruana in Gibraltar.

"It is the image of a humiliating rendition" which will remain "engraved in the archives" as being "a shame for Spain", the daily said, adding the photo "would only make sense if we had obtained recognition of Spain's sovereignty over the Rock".

The meeting avoided the issue of sovereignty and focused instead on issues of concern to the roughly 30,000 residents of the disputed 6.5-square-kilometre territory at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

During a press conference at the end of his visit, Mr Moratinos said Spain would never renounce its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar even as it pursued dialogue with Britain and Gibraltar over issues affecting the territory.

Mr Miliband said Mr Moratino's visit to Gibraltar, which has also been strongly criticised by Spain's main opposition Popular Party (PP), was "testimony to his wisdom and vision."

"It is not an historic visit, it is an historic error," said the president of the PP in the southern Andalusia region, Javier Arenas.

Top-selling centre-left daily newspaper El Pais sounded a different note, writing that "those who wish to revive patriotic pride and irredentism are mistaken about the era in which we live".