Freedom of the City bestowed on Sir Bob Neill 

The Freedom of the City of Gibraltar was conferred on former Conservative MP Sir Bob Neill on Monday, in recognition of his many years of support for Gibraltar in the House of Commons. 

As chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group in the Commons, Sir Bob championed Gibraltar and ensured ministers and MPs on both sides of the House were fully aware of the issues facing Gibraltar during the turbulent years following the 2016 Brexit referendum, and understood the often-nuanced detail. 

The conferment followed a motion tabled by the Chief Minister last year and passed with unanimous support across the chamber. 

It was bestowed on Sir Bob during a ceremony in City Hall attended by dignitaries from across Gibraltarian society, including the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Keith Azopardi, the Leader of the Opposition. 

Also present were Sir Bob’s wife, Ann Louise and his sister and brother-in-law, as well as visiting UK parliamentarians currently in Gibraltar for National Day. 

The Freedom of the City, Gibraltar’s highest honour, was presented to Sir Bob by the Deputy Mayor, Nicky Guerrero. 

Sir Bob, a barrister by profession and a seasoned politician, said he was “overwhelmed” by the occasion and “unusually struggling a little for words” 

Addressing guests, he saluted Gibraltar for the way it had responded to “changing and challenging circumstances” after the Brexit vote. 

“If I have been of some very small assistance in that, then I’m delighted to have done so,” he said. 

Sir Bob said there had never been any doubt in his mind as to the merits of Gibraltar’s cause and its right to self-determination and to decide its own future. 

 Wearing a tie from the Middle Temple, the same Inn of Court that many Gibraltar barristers belong to, Sir Bob said he had chosen it to symbolise that connection and the many friendships with Gibraltarians that he had enjoyed over the years. 

A former chair of the Commons justice committee, he reflected on the common law heritage that Gibraltar shared with the UK and which was one its “great selling points” to the world, “one of the things that brings the British family together”. 

Gibraltar, he said, was “a home from home”. 

Sir Bob recognised too the work of MPs in the Gibraltar all-party group, adding that while the Freedom of the City had been bestowed on him, “it’s a thank you to all of you, for all the work that the APPG has done and will continue to do, taking Gibraltar to the British Parliament and beyond.” 

Sir Bob said he would continue to make the case for Gibraltar “while there is breath in my body”. 

Addressing guests, Mr Picardo reflected on the work carried out over the years by Sir Bob on Gibraltar’s behalf. 

“The softly spoken approach that brings logic and persuasion to the equation is not to be underestimated in this modern time when perhaps many might be persuaded that only the loudest get through,” he said. 

“Bob has personified for me the ability to take Gibraltar's case and present it in a way which, although softly spoken, has been powerfully persuasive.” 

He highlighted in particular the Gibraltar Authorisation Regime, which enables Gibraltar-registered businesses to provide services in the UK and the vital importance of which Sir Bob had distilled into a letter to then Prime Minister after the Chief Minister had made the case in person. 

The Chief Minister pointed too to the high regard in which Sir Bob was held by MPs from bother sides of the Commons, adding he was grateful that he would continue to help Gibraltar. 

Mr Picardo said sometime the Government was faced with a cynical view of its engagement with MPs including the annual trip to Gibraltar for National Day. 

But in Sir Bob and the other MPs present, “you have the best explanation of why there is huge value in having friends in the British Parliament who understand the Gibraltar issue and who make it their own as Bob has made it its own.” 

“Bob, you defy the cynics, and so it is a real honour on behalf of all the members of the Gibraltar Parliament to see this honour bestowed upon you today and to see your name on the very, very exclusive roll of Freemen of the City of Gibraltar.”