Letter: Gibraltar is set to suffer the same as Northern Ireland, when the EU becomes the rulemaker

The previous decision by the Conservative and Unionist Party Government at Westminster which has clearly shown it is no Unionist party in even the broadest sense as they are not protecting the Union, the first duty of any UK government.

Instead by the surrender of sovereignty in this part of the United Kingdom to the European Union they are breaking a fundamental unionist principle by accepting EU rule over UK rule in Northern Ireland and conceding citizens here are no longer entitled to the same rights as those who live in other parts of the UK. This is shown on a daily basis by implementing the internal trade border on behalf of the EU that possibly soon will include the movement of people.

This surrender of core unionist beliefs for no gain has emboldened the EU to believe that the current talks on trade arrangements with the UK over Gibraltar will also conclude in the EUs favour.

The EU has good reason to believe that the outcome in talks with the UK government over the protectorate will go entirely their way because what has already happened with Northern Ireland. In fact a similar agreement is planned by the Foreign Secretary and past Prime Minister David Cameron who likes nothing better than giving the EU what it wants and the surrender of sovereignty where Gibraltar is concerned is just another step in concession after concession to the EU.

With our membership of the UK being diluted in the NI Protocol and its Windsor framework which makes the EU the rule maker in Northern Ireland and Stormont/Westminster the EU rule implementers, the same is planned for Gibraltar.

Like here, Gibraltar and its citizens will be British in name only with the UK no longer being the sovereign power, just the bill payer and like the people of Northern Ireland without democratic accountability, the people of Gibraltar will have to follow EU laws which they do not make or cannot change.

Stevan Patterson, Castlederg