Britain and Spain on course to agree future of Gibraltar by the summer

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George Walden: Ignore all these peevish patriots and give the rock back to the Spanish

Britain and Spain warned Gibraltar that the status quo was "unsustainable" after a meeting yesterday to discuss the future of the colony.

Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, and his Spanish counterpart, Josep Piqué, also ruled out independence for Gibraltar, saying it was against the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht, under which the territory was ceded to Britain.

Both said they had made good progress and were on course to reach a comprehensive agreement by the summer, which would include a settlement of the vexed sovereignty question. They stressed, however, that there was still no agreement on precisely what form of sovereignty would be applied.

One option is shared sovereignty along the lines of the Northern Ireland agreement, according to Foreign Office sources.

Mr Piqué reiterated Spain's position that Madrid would not renounce its claim to sovereignty over the territory. This was one "red line" defining Spain's position, he said yesterday; another was no independence for Gibraltar.

"We respect Britain's commitment to consult Gibraltar," he said, "but there is no way that this should involve the right to self-determination."

The task facing the negotiators is to find a form of words that meets those conditions, while also meeting Britain's conditions that it will not hand Gibraltar over to Spain and that Gibraltarians will retain their British citizenship and their British way of life.

In a joint communiqué after their meeting the two ministers renewed their call for the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Peter Caruana, to join the talks.

Mr Caruana said: "I am being invited to take part in dialogue after the British and the Spanish governments have already agreed between themselves an outline of principles which include giving away half of the sovereignty of Gibraltar."

In Gibraltar, beneath the office window of the Chief Minister overlooking Convent Square, protesters wearing Union flags held a day-long vigil. "Kill the Deal" and "We will never surrender" were among the placards they paraded.