Gibraltar Row: Spanish Divers Inspect Reef

The diplomatic row between Britain and Spain has intensified after footage emerged of Spanish police divers inspecting a controversial concrete reef off Gibraltar.

Spanish police published the footage showing one of its divers during an inspection of the artificial reef, which was built by the British overseas territory.

Gibraltar's government has dropped 74 concrete blocks onto the sea floor to create the reef, which it says will boost marine life.

Madrid has reacted furiously to the construction, with Spain claiming that its fishing industry has been damaged as a result.  

Fishermen say there are iron bars protruding from the blocks which tangle and break their fishing nets.

But the Rock's Governor, Sir Adrian Johns, says the actions of the police divers - as revealed in the footage - mark a "serious violation of British sovereignty".

In a statement, the Government of Gibraltar said: "Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar notes the incident of executive action taken by the Guardia Civil in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters in the area of the new artificial reef.

Profile: Gibraltar

"The matter of this serious incursion will not assist in de-escalating the present tensions."

Tensions between Spain and the British territory have been described as at their worst in 40 years.

Spain has imposed tighter controls at its border with Gibraltar amid the continuing row, causing long tailbacks at the crossing.

The move has prompted angry words from British officials.

But Gibraltar's chief Minister Fabian Picardo has said the waters could be re-opened to Spanish fishermen again by October, potentially offering a means to resolve the spat.

Mr Picardo said Gibraltar would not remove the concrete blocks, as Spain demands, and rejected four-way talks with Spain, Britain and Andalusia.

On Monday, HMS Westminster arrived in Gibraltar a day after Spanish fishermen were involved in a stand-off with UK military and police boats.

The type 23 frigate was due to spend three days on the Rock, before joining several other vessels taking part in a pre-planned international training exercise in the Mediterranean and Gulf.

Gibraltar: Spanish Boats In Royal Navy Stand-Off

Spanish fishermen have been involved in a stand-off with Royal Navy boats after making an illegal incursion into British waters around Gibraltar.

A flotilla of more than 30 fishing boats was "corralled" by UK military and police vessels after protesting near the spot where Gibraltar's government placed 70 concrete blocks in disputed waters next to the British territory.

The demonstration comesas the Royal Navy warship HMS Westminster is due to arrive in Gibraltar in a visit described by the Ministry of Defence as "long-planned".

Gibraltar says it has created the concrete artificial reef there to protect local fish stocks from trawling, but Madrid says it restricts their right to fish.

The move has led to further tensions between the UK, Gibraltar and Spain - which has imposed tougher border checks in retaliation.

Chief Inspector Castle Yates, of the Royal Gibraltar Police, said the Spanish boats crossed into Gibraltan waters before being "pushed" out again.

"We had our own police cordon along with Royal Navy and other assets and we corralled them in the area of the south mole," he said.

"They tried to breach the cordon several times but they were not successful."

More than 30 fishing vessels set out from the "Campo de Gibraltar" in southern Spain to form a floating protest - a smaller number than expected.

Sky's David Bowden, at the scene, said hundreds of Gibraltarians turned out in force to rebuff the protest.

"They lined the bay as a flotilla of small fishing boats sailed across from Spain at the other side of the Bay," he said.

"The flotilla, only a dozen or so boats strong, was escorted by a handful of sleek Spanish Guardia Civile speedboats.

"They were met by an equally strong show of force from the Gibraltar marine police in patrol vessels and highly manouvreable ribs making sure the Spanish invaders did not stray off the imaginary line in the sea that marks Spain from British Gibraltar."

The Spanish government has accused Gibraltar of laying the blocks "without the necessary authorisation" in "waters that are not theirs".

It responded by introducing additional checks at the fenced border, and suggesting a 50 euro (£43.30) fee could be imposed on every vehicle entering or leaving Gibraltar.

On Friday, Prime Minister David Cameron raised the matter with European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

He said the checks - which have seen huge delays at the border in recent weeks - were "politically motivated and disproportionate" and therefore contrary to the EU right of free movement.

UKIP MEP William Dartmouth, member for the South West of England and Gibraltar, has suggested that a member of the Royal family should visit Gibraltar to mark 300 years of British sovereignty.

"Nothing could demonstrate more to the citizens of Gibraltar how strongly Britain stands behind them in wishing to stay part of the United Kingdom than a visit by a member of the royal family," he said.

The row has set relations between Spain and the territory back 40 years, according to Edward Macquisten, chief executive of the Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce.

He said it was also having an impact on Gibraltar's high season tourist trade, which usually sees hordes of British visitors from Spanish resorts.

Spain Accused Over Gibraltar Border Delays

The Government has complained to Spanish counterparts after traffic was "deliberately" held up for up to six hours at the border with Gibraltar.

Images showed long queues at the border into the mainland from Gibraltar, which Spain claims as its own sovereign territory.

Authorities searched "practically every vehicle", triggering the tailbacks and affecting thousands of people who commute to and from Gibraltar for work.

A statement from the government of Gibraltar said: "It is disgraceful that EU nationals have been made to wait for nearly six hours to cross the border from Gibraltar to Spain.

"The Spanish Government has inflicted these unnecessary delays on the elderly, children and the infirm in up to 30 degrees of heat.

"This torture has resulted in an ambulance being deployed to treat people with medical conditions.

"The irony is that most of the victims are Spanish nationals in Spanish registered vehicles."

Foreign Secretary William Hague spoke to the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo on Sunday to express "serious concerns".

Britain's Ambassador in Madrid also raised concerns with the Spanish Deputy Foreign Minister and a protest was registered with the Spanish Ambassador in London.

A spokesman from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: "Our main concern is to restore people's basic right to freedom of movement and enable a return to normal operations at the border.

"A speedy solution is essential to address the very difficult situation there and consequent humanitarian issues."

Spain disputes UK sovereignty over Gibraltar, an outcrop on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula which has been ruled by Britain since 1713.

People in Gibraltar have rejected Spanish sovereignty in two referendums - in 1967 and 2002 - and for the last seven years have governed most of their own affairs apart from defence and foreign relations.

It comes after Spanish police fired plastic or rubber bullets at a British jetskier off Gibraltar last month.

Dale Villa, 32, said he was left "shaken" after a Spanish police patrol boat fired shots at his jetski and chased him through Gibraltar's territorial waters.

Earlier this week, Guardia Civil vessels entered Gibraltar territorial waters as contractors attempted to create an artificial reef in the sea.

Spain Train Crash: Driver Due In Court

A judge is preparing to question the driver of a train that hurtled off the tracks killing 78 people in Spain.

Francisco Jose Garzon Amo is being held on suspicion of "negligent homicide" and is due to appear before Judge Luis Alaez, who is heading the judicial investigation into the crash.

Judge Alaez will decide whether to press formal charges at the hearing, which must happen by 6.40pm BST on Sunday.

Garzon, 52, is suspected of driving too fast on a dangerous section of the line near the city of Santiago de Compostela.

Reports suggest the train was travelling at around 190km per hour (120mph), more than twice the 80km per hour (50mph) speed limit when it entered the bend.

Garzon, who was pictured staggering from the wreckage with blood pouring from a head wound, has refused to make a statement or answer questions about the crash.

His court appearance will be closed but the judge will decide whether to remand the driver as an official suspect, free him on bail or release him without charge.

The hearing comes as authorities said forensic experts have identified the last three bodies of the 78 people killed when the intercity train derailed and smashed into a concrete wall.

They did not reveal the victims' names but said their families had been informed.

A resident of the town where the train crashed has claimed Garzon admitted going fast and said he "wanted to die" in the aftermath of the crash.

In a television interview broadcast on Spain's Antena 3, Evaristo Iglesias said he and another person accompanied Garzon to a stretch of flat ground where other injured people were being laid out, waiting for emergency services to arrive.

Mr Iglesias said: "He told us that he wanted to die."

He added that Garzon said he "had been going fast" and "he said he had needed to brake but couldn't".

An American passenger, Stephen Ward, said he was watching the train's speed on a screen in the carriage, which indicated it was going at 194km per hour (121mph) moments before derailing.

Officials have so far not said how fast the train was going when it derailed and it is not clear whether the brakes failed or were never used.

The "black box" that records journey data is with the investigating judge.

All eight carriages of the train, packed with 218 passengers, careered off the track on the express route between Madrid and Ferrol on the Galician coast.

The train cut through electricity lines and leaking diesel fuel burst into flames in some carriages.

At least 130 people were taken to hospital after the crash, with dozens remaining in a critical condition.

Five US citizens and one Briton were among the injured and one American was among the dead.

Two separate investigations are being carried out into the catastrophe - one to look into possible failings by the driver and the other to examine the train's in-built speed regulation systems and see if it was a technical malfunction that meant the driver was not warned of the reduced speed limit around the bend.

The train crash is the worst Spain has experienced since a three-train accident in a tunnel in the northern Leon province in 1944.

Due to heavy censorship at the time, the exact death toll for the Torre del Bierzo disaster has never been established.

The official figure was given as 78 dead, but it is thought that as many as 250 could have been killed.

Spain: Teenager Gored To Death By Bull

A 16-year-old boy has been gored to death at a running-of-the-bulls festival celebrating the patron saint of a Spanish town, police say.

The animal caught the teenager in the back as he took part in the event marking the Apostle James feast at Isso, around 200 miles southeast of Madrid.

He underwent two failed operations to repair massive injuries to his liver, but doctors were unable to save him and he died hours later.

A 60-year-old man taking part in the festivities was also injured, when he was gored in a leg.

Fiestas including bulls are common in Spain, and critics and aficionados alike often agree that health and safety measures are almost non-existent at many small town bull runs.

That means almost anyone can participate, even if they are drunk or unfit.

The police spokesman who revealed the news did so on condition of anonymity because he is not allowed to be cited by name.