No-deal Brexit: Why UK MEPs voted against visa-free travel to Europe

Thirty MEPs voted in protest against a footnote on the sovereignty of Gibraltar

British MEPs have explained why they voted against UK citizens getting visa-free access to the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Thirty of them voted against a motion tabled by a Bulgarian MEP to grant British travellers the same concession as dozens of “third country” nationalities, including Australia, Japan and the US.

They have told The Independent that they were angered by a footnote to the proposal, added by the European Council after pressure from Spain.

It read: “There is a controversy between Spain and the United Kingdom concerning the sovereignty over Gibraltar, a territory for which a solution has to be reached.”

Labour MEP Claude Moraes, initially in charge of the proposal, was removed from this duty by fellow MEPs after opposing the addition. He subsequently voted against the motion.

“There was no reason for the regulation to serve any other purpose except as a reciprocal benefit to UK travellers,” he told The Independent.

The MEP for the disputed territory, Ashley Fox, said: “Spain and the EU can posture all they like, but Gibraltar’s sovereignty is not negotiable.”

The Conservative MEP John Flack said: “I voted against this otherwise sensible and reasonable proposal because the Spanish had scandalously hijacked the vote to make a totally unnecessary point about Gibraltar.”

Tory MEP Daniel Dalton agreed: “It is vitally important that we protect the right of UK and EU citizens to continue travelling visa-free in the event of a no-deal Brexit but we could not accept a claim on part of our territory.”

Independent MEP Steven Woolfe said he knew the legislation would pass anyway so voted against it. “My protest would be small but not prevent the visas being issued,” he said.

Gibraltar’s status had been “the subject of fierce debate over several weeks at committee stage”, according to Ukip’s Stuart Agnew.

He called the move “an attempt to morally blackmail MEPs by bundling up visas and Spain’s designs on Gibraltar”.

The Liberal Democrat MEP Catherine Bearder refused to back the motion because of the reference to Gibraltar. She said she would have voted in favour of visa-free travel otherwise.

However, Green MEP Jean Lambert voted for the proposal.

She described the footnote as “provocative and unnecessary” but “preferred to not give Spain the opportunity to put in place its own visa requirements”.

Despite the protest votes of UK MEPs, the vote was passed overwhelmingly by 502 votes to 81.