Theresa May’s Government have been on a charm offensive across the continent as Brexit rolls into the second phase of negotiations – with David Davis and Philip Hammond heading out to Germany while the Prime Minister brokers new deals on military cooperation and the Calais border with France.
Now British officials in Spain have vowed to cooperate closer with Madrid on military collaboration and intelligence issues.
UK ambassador Simon Manley revealed the UK were looking at ways to work with the country on terror and cybersecurity risks.
He said: “We are studying the various possibilities offered by military cooperation, such as exchanges, manoeuvres or sharing best practices, to identify new opportunities for collaboration.
“Among them, we could highlight the exchange of information, the fight against terrorism, the fight against mines, hybrid warfare and cyber warfare.
“I hope that this increased military cooperation reinforces an already broad and deep bilateral relationship.”
His comments coincided with the mooring of HMS Duncan, one of the UK’s most technological advanced destroyers, which stopped at the port of Malaga.
In return Spanish chief of defence General Fernando Alejandre, expressed Madrid’s commitment to “continue working together on issues that affect us beyond the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.”
Britain looks to maintain alliances on the continent in the wake of Brexit – particularly on military matters.
Earlier this month Lord Ricketts, a former UK national security adviser and ambassador to France, warned Paris and London will have to work harder to maintain their relationship once Britain frees itself from the clutches of Brussels.
He said: “Brexit will not weaken the case for close UK-French defence and security cooperation but it will change the context and create the risk of the two countries drifting apart.”
The peer, who has also served as a UK representative to Nato, acknowledged France and the UK have upped their commitment to cooperation on counter-terror and cyber-security initiatives in recent years “in response to recent terrorist attacks.
He said: “It is crucial that Brexit does not adversely affect this”
Lord Ricketts went on to warn the relationship was more vital than ever before in the face of “a more aggressive Russia, the emergence of North Korea as a nuclear power and the uncertainties about the longer-term US commitment to Nato following President Trump’s hesitations over re-affirming article 5”.
(Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.)