Spains bars police evidence —newspaper

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 8

Spains bars police evidence —newspaper

NZPA-Reuter London The Spanish Government has refused to allow a senior police officer to testify at the Gibraltar inquest into the shooting of three I.R.A. guerrillas by British commandos, the “Sunday Telegraph” newspaper reported. The newspaper said Madrid feared that Spanish testimony might prejudice its long-standing claim on the British colony. The appearance of a Spanish official in a Gibraltar court would have special significance because Spain does not recognise British sovereignty over Gibraltar, a rock fortress on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula that has been in British hands for 285 years.

The newspaper said 1 Madrid’s decision was a blow to British officials because Spanish evidence could have backed testimony by the Special Air Service commandos and intelligence officers who said the Irish Republican Army guerrillas were not under surveillance in Spain. Daniel McCann, Mairead Farrell and Sean Savage were killed on March 6 by S.A.S. soldiers after Gibraltar' police asked for help in foiling a planned I.R.A. car-bomb attack.

Press reports have suggested that Spanish police had the three under surveillance for months before the shooting and that the guerrillas could have been arrested in Spain instead of being shot in Gibraltar.