Be very afraid Jose! Cry havoc and set loose the dogs of war!

Oh my God, the ‘Cameroons’ have woken up from their Summer hibernation!  Perhaps it was the noise that UKIP were making after the Spanish Foreign Minister, Jose Garcia-Margallo threatened to impose tolls at the border with Gibraltar and to ban Gibraltar bound aircraft from Spanish airspace.  Meanwhile the Spanish Police are forcing motorists to wait for hours at the border crossing.

All of this, smoke and mirrors action by the Spanish government – which I am sure, indeed  certain, that our government are well versed in – is to divert attention from the widespread anger at the allegations that the Madrid government have been taking illegal cash payments and the Prime Minister is under severe pressure.

The corruption allegations coincide with Spain’s worst economic crisis for decades with record unemployment and many Spaniards struggling to make ends meet.

The governing Conservative People’s Party’s former treasurer, Louis Barcenas is in custody facing trial for corruption and tax fraud.  Although he denies the charges, he is singing like a bird, saying that he made numerous payments, in cash, to Prime Minister Senor Mariano Rajoy and other senior party members, out of the party slush fund of illegal donations by businesses.  Details of Barcenas’s ledgers have been published in two major Spanish newspapers.  Oh dear!

With shades of General Galtieri who thought to divert a little local difficulty in Argentina, by invading the Falklands.  In the same way that  no politician ever learns from history, Rajoy and Garcia-Margello came up with the brilliant idea to divert the thousands of protesters on the streets of central Madrid – Patriotism (you know the last refuge of a scoundrel) –  GIBRALTAR Ole that will get our people behind us – Oh dear!

I can just imagine “Call me Dave” being rather irritated by this disturbance to his holidays and coming up with a solution ” *$#k them, send a gunboat” and the Secretary of State for Defence, the Right Honourable Philip Hammond saying “Prime Minister, if you remember I did mention that if you continued to follow the path set by Nu Labour with the emasculation of the Royal Navy . . . . . . ” and Dave interrupting him with “Yes, yes, just do it, the Dagoes are even further up shit creek than we are, just do it”.

Our embattled Mr Hammond cobbles up a plan and tells the Admiralty to see what they have that aren’t left lying around in mothballs in Devonport or Whale Island.  They too come up with a plan, a fleet of ten vessels, well an Aircraft Carrier, two Frigates and some support vessels.

So HMS Illustrious – you know the Navy’s last and only Aircraft Carrier which no longer carries any planes since the Harriers were axed.  The “Rusty Lusty” is the oldest active ship in the Fleet was commissioned in 1982 and carries helicopters.  Lusty will be accompanied by 2 Frigates, HMS Westminster – commissioned in 1992 and HMS Montrose built in Glasgow in 1992, she carries a Lynx helicopter.

At this time the “Task Force” is heading for the Mediterranean together with the rumour of a Nuclear Submarine HMS Tireless lurking nearby.  Lusty and the two Frigates are going to call into the British Sovereign Base at Gibraltar.

So Jose Garcia-Margallo, you should be very, very afraid because if “Rusty Lusty” should sink while off the Gibraltar coast and she could due to neglect, to take it’s place alongside the 70 concrete blocks designed to create an artificial reef to regenerate fish stocks that were the original cause of the latest disagreement with Spain because they also prevents trawling in its waters.  Just remember Jose, if you counted them all in, you should make sure that you count them all out.

A sunken Aircraft Carrier would provide the environmentalists with even more pleasure, it would delight the fish stocks and could even set the angry Spanish fishermen on a more correct course to direct their anger against Madrid instead of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.  Then our politicians can continue with their Summer Recess.  Oh dear!

About Jake

Long retired travel writer, author and freelance journalist. Educated at Wolverton Grammar and Greenwich Naval College. Happily married since 1958, with a married son and daughter, a married granddaughter and an adult grandson. Hobbies rock-climbing, dinghy racing and ocean racing. Still regularly working out in the gym.
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