The pound euro exchange rate fell this morning to €1.127 after the Prime Minister of Spain reiterated a threat from Madrid to veto Brexit over the issue of Gibraltar. Pedro Sanchez warned “our positions remain far away” as he repeated his opposition to Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement over the future relationship between Britain and the EU. He said in a tweet last night: “After my conversation with Theresa May, our positions remain far away. “My government will always defend the interests of Spain. If there are no changes, we will veto Brexit.”
Future dealings with Gibraltar have proved to be the latest disagreement in finally clinching a Brexit deal, with Spain insisting arrangements for the small British territory should be dealt with separately.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said Gibraltar will not be missed out in discussions over future relationships between the UK and EU.
He said: ”The PM has been clear that we will not exclude Gibraltar and the other overseas territories and crown dependencies from our negotiations on the future relationship.”
The threat from Spain comes just hours after a defiant Mrs May declared Brexit is “within our grasps” after telling MPs she had won “the right deal for the UK”.
The pound soared upon news of a Brexit breakthrough yesterday morning after a 26-page text of the completed “political declaration” on future dealings between the UK and Brussels was leaked.
Sterling reached a high of €1.130 against the euro, as the pound continues to fluctuate on Brexit developments.
This was confirmed shortly afterwards when EU Council President Donald Tusk said an agreement had been “agreed in principle”.
He said: “It has been agreed at negotiators’ level and agreed in principle at political level, subject to the endorsement of the leaders.”
Mrs May will head to Brussels this weekend where it is hoped the deal will be signed off with the approval of the 27 other EU leaders on Sunday.
The Prime Minister formally announced her deal in a statement to cameras in Downing Street.
Standing in front of the door of Number 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister said: “This is the right deal for the UK.
“It delivers on the vote of the referendum. It brings back control of our borders, our money and our laws.
“And it does so while protecting jobs, protecting our security and protecting the integrity of the United Kingdom.”
But despite her positive stance on moving forward with the deal, Mrs May remained under fire yesterday with a string of former Tory Cabinet ministers ripping apart details of the agreement during a two-and-a-half hour Commons session.
The Prime Minister was forced to defend her deal from a series of attacks from Tory heavyweights about the so-called “Northern Ireland backstop”.
Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, told her the plan made “a complete nonsense of Brexit”.
While former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab warned the deal would “do the opposite” of giving the country back control.