Govt details McGrail Inquiry report delivery process

The Gibraltar Government has detailed the process in which the McGrail Inquiry report will be delivered to recipients in the coming weeks.

The 700-page report was delivered to the Government on Thursday last week by Secretary to the Inquiry Maurice Turnock.

In a press statement, the Government confirmed the report is currently being read and considered by the Government before publication.

The Government said its position continues to be that it will publish the Report in full well ahead of Christmas.

The Government added it has entered into an agreement with the Chairman of the Inquiry in relation to publication and the provision of advance copies of the Report to sufficiently affected persons and entities to ensure compliance with natural justice requirements.

Pursuant to that agreement, the Government will provide or authorise access to an advance copy of the Report, before publication, to two entities (the RGP and the Gibraltar Police Authority) and to 33 individuals.

Under the terms of the agreement, provision of the advance copy of the report by the Government is subject to the recipient first entering into a confidentiality agreement with the Chairman of the Inquiry and the Government.

“The terms of those undertakings have now also been agreed, and lawyers will start sending them to the recipients for signature early next week,” the statement said.

“Once recipients have signed and delivered the required confidentiality undertakings the Government will be able to commence the process for the provision of advance copies by reference to its intended publication date.”

“The agreed advance copies process involves giving recipients at least two working days’ notice of the date on which Government intends to provide the advance copy.”

“This is to ensure that lawyers and other recipients schedule time to consider it when they receive it.”

“Thereafter the Government will provide the advance copy of the Report to recipients three clear (ignoring the day of provision of the advance copy and the day of publication of the Report) working days before publication.”

The Government said advance copies will be provided before 10am in the day and publication of the Report will be after 3pm in the day.

However, if a weekend intervenes during this period, the three clear working days becomes two clear working days. This ensures the best part of five working days’ notice.

Advance copies will also be provided on suitable but different terms to GBC and the Gibraltar Chronicle and, as appropriate, to the Leader of the Opposition.

"Finally, the Government notes that certain lawyers involved in representing Mr McGrail have recently been issuing press and social media statements which are political in nature and have nothing to do with their legal representation of their client in the Inquiry," the statement added.

"The Government trusts that said lawyers will not seek to charge the taxpayer legal fees for the political statements they have been making."