Gibraltar has been issued a horror warning over a possible attack on a nuclear submarine, resulting in crisis for the “timb bomb” territory.
A retired naval captain and military expert has warned that the Rock does not have suitable contingency plans in place in the event of a crisis, making it a “time bomb”.
Ángel Liberal, now a defence adviser to Spain’s permanent ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, warned just one attack would be enough to spell disaster.
He told Spanish outlet EuropaSur: “The fact is that with just one attack on a nuclear submarine in the port, everything is over… Gibraltar is a time bomb. If a nuclear submarine explodes, everything around it disappears.”
Since 2001, there have been 87 recorded instances of nuclear submarines entering into Gibraltar, according to Liberal.
The defence adviser also expressed fears the damage from an attack on a nuclear submarine in Gibraltar could also extend to Campo de Gibraltar in Spain, which borders the Rock.
Campo de Gibraltar is an area within the Spanish province of Cádiz in the southwestern part of Andalusia, the southernmost part of mainland Europe.
The military expert stressed there are not sufficient plans in place to ensure the area’s safety in the event of a future attack.
He also claimed it’s “inevitable” the UK will “squeeze Gibraltar through any loophole in international organisations, treaties, documents”.
Liberal said this would give the country “more substance, more justification for its presence in Gibraltar” and warned it’s “necessary to pay close attention to all British manoeuvres in that regard”.
The expert believes it’s “obvious” that the UK’s main interest in Gibraltar is its usefulness militarily – the territory’s “fundamental” value.
He added: “Gibraltar is a city within a military base and what predominates are military interests. Another thing is that it is used as a shield….that the population is used to justify the military presence there.”
The UK has four military bases in Gibraltar and between 12,000 and 14,000 British military personnel pass through it in each. It is a particularly important location for the Royal Navy. In 2022, there were around 79 ship vists.
