Govt issues restriction notice to keep ‘very limited’ security references private in McGrail Inquiry

The Gibraltar Government has issued a Restriction Notice under new powers in the controversial Inquiries Act 2024 to keep “very limited” references to Gibraltar’s security systems out of the public eye during the McGrail Inquiry, citing “vital public interest” grounds.

According to No.6 Convent Place, the Cabinet met on Thursday afternoon to consider the exercise of powers under Section 19 of the new Inquiries Act to issue a Restriction Notice relating to “a small and very limited number of references” to the National Security Centralised Intelligence System in documents which are before the McGrail Inquiry.

“Given the nature of and the reasons for making a Restriction Notice, it is obviously not possible to provide details of the information covered by the Restriction Notice, since that would defeat the very purpose of issuing it in the first place,” No.6 said in a statement.

“The Government is able to say it has given the Restriction Notice to the Chairman of the Inquiry solely in order to protect and avoid the risk of considerable harm to what the Government considers to be vital public interests of Gibraltar of both a security and wider nature, including its economic interests.”

Due to the nature of these public interests of Gibraltar, the Government said it had offered to brief the Leader of the Opposition, Keith Azopardi, on “Privy Council terms”, including about the information covered by the Restriction Notice.

Accepting a briefing on Privy Council terms is voluntary but anyone agreeing to them would have to treat the information as confidential.

The Cabinet meeting on Thursday was chaired by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, and was attended by all ministers. The Minister for Sport, Leslie Bruzon, attended virtually because he is away from Gibraltar.

The Attorney General, Michael Llamas, also attended the meeting at the invitation of the Chief Minister.

No.6 said too that the Governor, Vice Admiral Sir David Steel, had been informed throughout of the reasons for the Restriction Notice being “necessary and essential”.

The decision of the Cabinet to issue the Restriction Notice was unanimous, with every member of the Cabinet agreeing, after carefully considering all aspects of the issue, that it was essential in the public interest of Gibraltar to issue it to the Chairman of the Inquiry, retired UK High Court judge Sir Peter Openshaw.

Although it could not go into the detail of Restriction Notice, No.6 confirmed that the restricted information did not relate to:

The Chief Minister;

His actions or inactions, or any matters which have been alleged against him;

His status as a partner, on sabbatical, of law firm Hassans;

Any partner of the law firm, Hassans;

Any factual dispute between him and former police Commissioner Ian McGrail or any other of the matters of controversy referred to in the public exchanges on the Inquiry;

Any information the restriction of which in any way protects the Chief Minister or assists him in relation to the matters being investigated in the Inquiry.

In the statement, No.6 also confirmed that:

The information does not relate to Mr McGrail;

His actions or inactions;

Any matters which have been alleged against him or any factual dispute between him and the Chief Minister.

The Government said the Restriction Notice did not affect the capacity of the Chairman of the Inquiry, the core participants in the Inquiry and their respective legal teams to look at all the evidence, including the evidence which is subject to the Restriction Notice.

It said too that the notice did not affect the ability of the Chairman to take full account of the restricted information when making his findings.

“The sole effect of the Restriction Notice is to prevent the restricted information being published, including to the world at large outside Gibraltar,” No.6 said.

The Restriction Notice was signed by the Minister for Justice, Nigel Feetham, in keeping with an undertaking given by the Chief Minister to Parliament at the time of the debate on the second reading of the Bill for the Inquiries Act.

No.6 said too that the decision to issue the Restriction Notice could be judicially reviewed in court by interested parties.

Mr Feetham said: “I have said previously that I put people above politics and this is certainly not even about party politics.”

“I have considered this matter very carefully with all my colleagues in Cabinet.”

“We have come to the same, unanimous, conclusion, based on sound legal advice and our careful consideration of our national security and the public interest, that it is necessary and essential that we should issue this Restriction Notice and that I should sign it on behalf of the whole Government to protect our country and protect our people.”

“I have sworn an oath to protect the Rule of Law and in signing this Restriction Notice I am clear – as are my ministerial colleagues - that I am acting properly and in keeping with my obligations to ensure that our nation is secure and our interests as a people are protected at this important time.”

“This was rightly a decision for the whole Government to take, fully appraised of information relating to our national security and our common, public interest.”

“Ministers are collectively accountable to the electorate and Parliament for the consequences of this decision.”

“I wish I could tell the people of Gibraltar more, but we must act responsibly in a matter of such national importance.”

“The easiest thing I could do now is direct criticism at the Opposition for the hugely unfair manner they have treated the Chief Minister and the damage they have done to the reputation of Gibraltar, but I choose to refrain from doing so in the wider public interest of our beloved country, which matters more to me than party politics.”

“I call on Mr Azopardi to accept the confidential briefing offered by the Government in the wider, non-partisan national interest.”

GSD REACTION

Last night, the Opposition reacted to the development and repeated concerns it has voiced over the past fortnight about the change in the law and any use by the Government of the new powers it contains.

“We have serious concerns that this is no more than an attempt to side-step the Chairman of the Inquiry who has already ruled against the Government when it made submissions on public interest grounds to seek to exclude certain evidence,” the GSD said in a statement.

“If this is a second bite at that particular cherry then all that has happened is that the Government have converted themselves into the Court of Appeal from the Chairman.”

The Opposition noted the Government’s offer to show it the Restriction Notice on Privy Council terms.

“This means that the Opposition would be unable to comment publicly on the terms of the notice for the moment,” the GSD said.

“Despite that the Government appears to feel free in their own press release to tell the public what the notice allegedly is and isn’t about.”

“It is, however, impossible for the Opposition to say one way or the other what all this is about as we have not seen the notice and neither is it able to publicly comment on the real reasons behind the decision.”

It added: “The Government really cannot have it both ways - to seek to gag Opposition comment but then proceed to comment itself in a one-sided way.”

“However, in deference to the Inquiry Chairman who has not yet expressed a view on this the Leader of the Opposition is confirming to the Chief Minister that he is prepared to receive the notice on Privy Council terms at this stage to see its context and until the Chairman decides whether it should be made public.”

“This is out of respect to the Inquiry Chairman as the Opposition have always proceeded on the basis that the Chairman should be allowed to carry out his job in the way he considers appropriate.”

“If the Chairman makes the notice public the Opposition may comment further or indeed comment on the details as disclosed by the Government.”

“At this stage the Opposition will not accept any further private briefing in relation to purported reasons.”

“Finally we are dismayed at the nonsense being spouted by the Government and Mr Feetham in particular, about the Opposition having damaged Gibraltar’s reputation.”

“This is palpably false,” the GSD said.

“The damage to Gibraltar’s reputation has been caused by Mr Picardo and his Government.”

“There is now a litany of examples in this saga that show this.”