James Saunders
Guest Reporter
Workers and travellers crossing into Gibraltar from Spain could be held up in 14-hour-long queues if a post-Brexit deal can't be reached, the mayor of the Rock's Spanish border town has warned.
The mayor of La Linea, Juan Franco, said that if Britain and Spain couldn't agree on a deal, his own city - which relies on its economic ties to Gibraltar - would face drastic consequences.
Franco has said that a no-deal situation could push property prices up, and funnel thousands of people away from legitimate work and into the throes of organised crime.
Speaking to The Telegraph on Wednesday, the mayor warned that Spanish citizens who work in Gibraltar could be waiting up to 14 hours if Spain follows through with its threats of enforcing full Schengen border rules.
He also urged Spanish officials to reach an agreement - but Madrid is still holding out on what it has called its own "generous" terms.
Echoing warnings from Gibraltar's own Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, the mayor pleaded against a return to the conditions enforced under his unfortunate namesake, Spain's dictator Francisco Franco.
He said: "We will go back to a similar place to where we were after 1969," referring to when the Generalissimo shut the border with Gibraltar - decimating La Linea's economy.
He added: "Decisions should have been taken before this moment to find solutions that benefit the whole area on both sides of the border.
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"Now we are up to our neck and close to drowning."
His comments came just under a week after draconian Spanish officials kicked off a brief diplomatic war between Spain and Gibraltar after checking and stamping the passports of those heading to La Linea.
Gibraltar's Government said that a rogue officer had started the fracas - which left Spain "unable to cope" with the building queues of travellers, forcing Spanish guards to revert to the interim UK-Spain rules.
Gibraltar soon followed suit - but Spain was at it again just hours later, despite having been explicitly instructed not to do so.
Spanish officials had apparently wanted their instructions in written form - as the initial instruction to renege on the border rules had been written down too.
Gibraltar and Spain eventually managed to find a way through, but Chief Minister Picardo called on Spain to accept the UK's "reasonable, balanced and imaginative" proposals for a post-Brexit deal on Gibraltar, adding the "ball is in Spain's court".
Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, however, has said: "It's time for the United Kingdom to say yes to a balanced and generous agreement that we have put on the table a long time ago.
"It is the UK that now has to choose whether it wants a system of restriction of movement for the people of Gibraltar or the generous and balanced deal on offer."
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