Nicola Sturgeon started talks with London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Gibraltar’s Fabian Picardo just days after the Brexit result in June 2016.
Their respective regions had all voted to remain in the EU, with all three leaders looking to minimise any economic impact.
And Mr Picardo had also warned of an “existential threat” to Gibraltar’s “economic model”, but after commissioning post-Brexit analysis, he admitted he was “surprised” to discover that 92 percent of the British Overseas Territory’s activity within the EU single market was with the UK.
He told The Herald: “England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland were not open markets for Gibraltar until Europe opened the door for us through the single market.”
Mr Picardo added he has now realised what Gibraltar had to do was “secure access to the United Kingdom market”.
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This means the Chief Minister has now “considerably” changed his view on Brexit. Conversely Ms Sturgeon has doubled down on her ambition to keep Scotland within the single market.
Mr Picardo now wants the EU to view Gibraltar and the UK as a “single state” in negotiating terms, while the First Minister has maintained a fall-back position of a “differentiated” arrangement for Scotland, even if it remains part of the UK.
According to The Herald, Mr Picardo has spoken of Gibraltarians to “renew their vows of Britishness” by leaving the EU with the UK and rejecting renewed attempts by Spain to “pool” sovereignty over the Territory in the process.
But he said: “Gibraltar is very clear we want to continue with very close alignment with the European Union in respect of areas of social policy, areas of economic and environmental policy.”
Mr Picardo still thinks the possibility of a “train wreck” deal can’t be fully discarded, warning that “egos” and “political ambitions” shouldn’t get in the way of a workable agreement, a move that would be “imperfect”.
He added achieving that was a challenge which would “sap the energy of a political generation”, but one the referendum result obliged all those concerned to “fulfil”.
In December, Mr Picardo issued an urgent plea to Mrs May and Brussels not to “forget them” during Brexit negotiations, reminding them of the thousands of people who cross the Spanish border every day.