Spain has accused the Royal Navy of using the Spanish national flag for machine gun target practice.
Britain's ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman (the brother of the BBC's "Newsnight" presenter Jeremy Paxman), was forced to apologise after sailors onboard HMS Scimitar fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off the British territory of Gibraltar.
However, it is more likely that the British sailors were firing at the international maritime flag for the number '1', which looks similar to the Spanish flag.
It may be that Spain is just taking revenge for an incident in May when the Royal Navy scared away a Spanish naval ship (it doesn't take too much to scare away the Spanish military) after it was caught inspecting fishing vessels in British territorial waters around the colony.
Gibraltar which, politicially, is a part of south west England, is Britain's forever.
The rock was seized by British and Dutch Marines after fierce fighting against the Spanish in 1704, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.
In 2002, Britain accidentally invaded Spain after Royal Marines stormed what they thought was a Gibraltarean beach during a training exercise.
Jeremy Paxman's diplomat brother apologises after Royal Navy 'uses Spanish flag for target practice'
By Ian Drury
21st November 2009
Daily Mail
The maritime international flag for the number '1' (above) looks similar to the Spanish flag (below)
The Royal Navy was accused yesterday of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target.
Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar.
He was summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry for a dressing down and officials said he had conceded there had been an 'error of judgement'.
But the ambassador - who has been in post for just a month - denied that the crew of HMS Scimitar had been insulting Spain's flag.
BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman's brother Giles, left, has been forced to apologise for the incident
Instead, he told them the sailors had actually been firing at Nato's maritime flag for the number '1' which shares the same distinctive colours.
Mr Paxman promised an investigation into the incident.
But diplomatic sources said Madrid was taking revenge following a spat in May when the Royal Navy forced a Spanish naval ship to retreat after it was caught inspecting fishing vessels in British territorial waters around the colony.
A statement released by the Spanish Foreign Ministry said: 'The British ambassador has apologised for this error of judgement and the lack of sensibility shown and has promised to open a thorough investigation.'
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid said: 'We can confirm the British ambassador has been called in to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
'They have put a statement out. We're aware of the wording and we have nothing further to say.'
The incident happened on Tuesday morning seven miles off Gibraltar when a Spanish police patrol boat witnessed officers on HMS Scimitar reeling in a red-and-yellow flag on a buoy.
The Guardia Civil claimed in a official report that two machine guns were trained on the flag - but admitted they had not seen any shots fired.
The Spanish police also said they were warned by loudspeaker as they approached: 'You are not allowed here, these are international waters, leave immediately.'
They told their superiors that this was an desperate attempt by the Navy to keep them at a distance while they concealed evidence that sailors had been defiling 'Spanish colours'.
An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted the Spanish had been mistaken, but pledged to take action so a row did not flare in future.
The incident is alleged to have taken place five nautical miles from Gibraltar
He said: 'HMS Scimitar was using Flag No1 during gunnery practise – not the Spanish national flag. Flag No1 is traditionally used on gunnery targets due to its high visibility however we recognise its similarity to the Spanish national flag and will use an alternative marker during gunnery practise in this area in the future.'
The latest spat comes amid simmering tensions in Straits of Gibraltar between Spanish police boats and the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Patrol Boat Squadron.
Relations between the countries soured in the spring when the British Embassy in Madrid made an official complaint over a Spanish navy ship inspecting fishing boats in British waters.
After new incursions in July, the government of Gibraltar urged all ships to ignore Spanish patrol ships - and send up distress flares if approached.
Gibraltar was seized by British and Dutch Marines after fierce fighting in 1704, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.
But Spain has defiantly refused to recognise the agreement, which includes territorial waters three miles around the Rock, and has repeatedly tried to reclaim them.
It is not the first military mix-up between the two nations in recent years.
In 2002, British Marines inadvertently invaded Spain after storming the wrong beach during a training exercise.
Twenty troops, armed and in full battle order, poured from their landing craft and charged up a beach.
Thanks to a monumental navigational blunder, they had managed to invade the Spanish town of La Linea, which lies on the frontier with Gibraltar.
They thought they were invading Gibraltar as part of a military exercise and were expecting strong opposition from other British troops.
But they were confronted by sunbathers and two Spanish police officers. After acknowledging the mistake, they reboarded their craft and sailed to their proper destination.
dailymail.co.uk
Britain's ambassador to Spain, Giles Paxman (the brother of the BBC's "Newsnight" presenter Jeremy Paxman), was forced to apologise after sailors onboard HMS Scimitar fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off the British territory of Gibraltar.
However, it is more likely that the British sailors were firing at the international maritime flag for the number '1', which looks similar to the Spanish flag.
It may be that Spain is just taking revenge for an incident in May when the Royal Navy scared away a Spanish naval ship (it doesn't take too much to scare away the Spanish military) after it was caught inspecting fishing vessels in British territorial waters around the colony.
Gibraltar which, politicially, is a part of south west England, is Britain's forever.
The rock was seized by British and Dutch Marines after fierce fighting against the Spanish in 1704, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.
In 2002, Britain accidentally invaded Spain after Royal Marines stormed what they thought was a Gibraltarean beach during a training exercise.
Jeremy Paxman's diplomat brother apologises after Royal Navy 'uses Spanish flag for target practice'
By Ian Drury
21st November 2009
Daily Mail
The maritime international flag for the number '1' (above) looks similar to the Spanish flag (below)
The Royal Navy was accused yesterday of using a Spanish flag as a machine-gun target.
Giles Paxman, the UK's new ambassador in Madrid, was forced to apologise after sailors fired at a red-and-yellow flag affixed to a buoy while patrolling off Gibraltar.
He was summoned to the Spanish Foreign Ministry for a dressing down and officials said he had conceded there had been an 'error of judgement'.
But the ambassador - who has been in post for just a month - denied that the crew of HMS Scimitar had been insulting Spain's flag.
BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman's brother Giles, left, has been forced to apologise for the incident
Instead, he told them the sailors had actually been firing at Nato's maritime flag for the number '1' which shares the same distinctive colours.
Mr Paxman promised an investigation into the incident.
But diplomatic sources said Madrid was taking revenge following a spat in May when the Royal Navy forced a Spanish naval ship to retreat after it was caught inspecting fishing vessels in British territorial waters around the colony.
A statement released by the Spanish Foreign Ministry said: 'The British ambassador has apologised for this error of judgement and the lack of sensibility shown and has promised to open a thorough investigation.'
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid said: 'We can confirm the British ambassador has been called in to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
'They have put a statement out. We're aware of the wording and we have nothing further to say.'
The incident happened on Tuesday morning seven miles off Gibraltar when a Spanish police patrol boat witnessed officers on HMS Scimitar reeling in a red-and-yellow flag on a buoy.
The Guardia Civil claimed in a official report that two machine guns were trained on the flag - but admitted they had not seen any shots fired.
The Spanish police also said they were warned by loudspeaker as they approached: 'You are not allowed here, these are international waters, leave immediately.'
They told their superiors that this was an desperate attempt by the Navy to keep them at a distance while they concealed evidence that sailors had been defiling 'Spanish colours'.
An MoD spokesman yesterday insisted the Spanish had been mistaken, but pledged to take action so a row did not flare in future.
The incident is alleged to have taken place five nautical miles from Gibraltar
He said: 'HMS Scimitar was using Flag No1 during gunnery practise – not the Spanish national flag. Flag No1 is traditionally used on gunnery targets due to its high visibility however we recognise its similarity to the Spanish national flag and will use an alternative marker during gunnery practise in this area in the future.'
The latest spat comes amid simmering tensions in Straits of Gibraltar between Spanish police boats and the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Patrol Boat Squadron.
Relations between the countries soured in the spring when the British Embassy in Madrid made an official complaint over a Spanish navy ship inspecting fishing boats in British waters.
After new incursions in July, the government of Gibraltar urged all ships to ignore Spanish patrol ships - and send up distress flares if approached.
Gibraltar was seized by British and Dutch Marines after fierce fighting in 1704, during the Napoleonic Wars, and ceded to Britain in perpetuity under the Treaty of Utrecht nine years later.
But Spain has defiantly refused to recognise the agreement, which includes territorial waters three miles around the Rock, and has repeatedly tried to reclaim them.
It is not the first military mix-up between the two nations in recent years.
In 2002, British Marines inadvertently invaded Spain after storming the wrong beach during a training exercise.
Twenty troops, armed and in full battle order, poured from their landing craft and charged up a beach.
Thanks to a monumental navigational blunder, they had managed to invade the Spanish town of La Linea, which lies on the frontier with Gibraltar.
They thought they were invading Gibraltar as part of a military exercise and were expecting strong opposition from other British troops.
But they were confronted by sunbathers and two Spanish police officers. After acknowledging the mistake, they reboarded their craft and sailed to their proper destination.
dailymail.co.uk
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