Sir Joe stands defiant in face of ‘Brexit dragon’

“I am not scared of Brexit,” Sir Joe Bossano declared on Saturday, as he vowed to vanquish the Brexit ‘dragon’ during an address at GibTalks.

Sir Joe stressed the importance of knowing Gibraltar’s history to be able to make a difference in the Rock’s future, highlighting various times when its sovereignty had been put into question.

Delivering an address titled ‘The UN and The Brussels Betrayal’ at the John Mackintosh Hall, he outlined the Rock’s continuous battles to ensure its sovereignty remained undisputed.

“We don’t accept there is an issue of sovereignty,” Sir Joe said. “There is only one issue and that is an issue for Spain.”

Sir Joe spoke about the 1984 Brussels agreement that “betrayed” Gibraltar and its beliefs, and the UN’s classification of Gibraltar as a colony.

Under the Brussels agreement the UK and Spain would hold bilateral talks over Gibraltar and its sovereignty.

He added these issues were now manifested in Brexit and Gibraltar must rise to the challenge again.

“Now we are in a situation where we are facing something in Brexit, where Spain…is trying to revive the 1984 agreement and is trying to take us back to the place that we were,” Sir Joe said.

“They think they have us in a corner and they think they hold all of our aces. Well, I am not scared of Brexit. I can tell you that in my view we will be out in 2020 with no deal.”

Sir Joe spoke of his recent knighthood and sees himself as a “knight commander” for Gibraltar.

With vigour Sir Joe detailed all the threats to Gibraltar’s sovereignty over the years and how he had “killed” them off.

“I killed the dragon of Strasbourg and it metamorphosed as Lisbon, and then Brussels,” Sir Joe said to cheers from the audience.

“I killed it at Brussels and now it is metamorphosing as Brexit. I am going to be as a knight, on my horse with my lance and I will kill Brexit.”

Sir Joe’s statements were met by loud applause from the audience, which included many GSLP supporters who attended the event to watch his talk.