PM’s official spokesman says Clegg can go where he wants despite Gibraltar crisis
Despite concerns from the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) the Prime Minister's official spokesman has said that "the choice of holiday destination for the Deputy Prime Minister is up to him."
Following a dispute about fishing rights with Spain, the FCO has announced that it will "continue to use all necessary measures to safeguard British sovereignty" over the territory on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula.
The deputy prime minister has refused to boycott his traditional holiday to Spain, saying that he has "been going for 25 years" and has "no intention of boycotting my in-laws' holiday with my children."
Nick Clegg's wife, Miriam Clegg, was born in Olmedo, Spain.
The prime minister's official spokesman said that "we are seriously concerned by events at the Spain Gibraltar border" and that the government is "seeking an explanation from them, they have not raised it directly with us."
Spain's minister for foreign affairs and cooperation, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, has suggested border crossing fees of €50 and an extensive tax investigation into the ownership of Spanish property by residents of the peninsula.
The spokesman refused to confirm whether there were high level talks with Gibraltar on border fees, and would not comment on UKIP's proposal of sending a Royal Navy frigate.
Gibraltar's ownership is a long-running issue of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations.