Pro-Brexit elite taking us into another war?

Sir, - It’s extraordinary that the government of Theresa May is prepared to go to war with Spain over Gibraltar.

Gibraltar was ceded to Britain “in perpetuity” under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, which also gave Britain exclusive right to transport slaves to South America.

Besides functioning as an important military base for British forces, it is 12 miles from the north coast of Africa and is an important tax haven for the international and British ruling elite.

The Panama Papers exposed Gibraltar’s role in a web of offshore entities used by politicians and the superrich to avoid paying taxes.

The “hard Brexit” right-wing regard Brexit as an opportunity to complete Margaret Thatcher’s social counter-revolution

In this regard especially, there are direct parallels between the statements over Gibraltar and the Malvinas war.

Thatcher exploited the Argentinean junta’s decision to invade the island to launch a jingoist campaign aimed at shoring up her government at a time when it was involved in major industrial confrontations with the working class.

Likewise, Mrs May’s Conservative government is enforcing austerity under conditions of deep social polarisation and a major political and constitutional crisis created by Brexit.

The attack on “another Spanish-speaking country” indicates that the ruling elite are prepared to launch another bloody military venture as a means to this end.

The implication of these developments go far beyond Mrs Thatcher’s one-sided war in the South Atlantic.

Britain and Spain are both Nato members.

The prospect of a confrontation between the two would involve not only a divided and fractious EU, but the United States. Alan Hinnrichs. 2 Gillespie Terrace, Dundee.

Picture: Getty Images Former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect Gibraltar.