Britain secretly turned Gibraltar into major NATO spy base
A formerly secret UK military report reveals that Gibraltar’s “main value” to Britain during the Cold War was its role as a covert NATO military and intelligence outpost – which it kept hidden from Spain. | Britain secretly used its overseas territory of Gibraltar as a NATO spying base during the Cold War, it can be revealed. The revelations come from a secret report drawn up by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 1972. It shows how NATO paid for a spy facility inside the Rock of Gibraltar and operated a secret underwater maritime headquarters in seas around the territory. ● The new information could increase tensions with Spain as it is not clear whether these assets still exist. Spain has long claimed Gibraltar and attempts to restrict its use as a military and intelligence base. ● The MoD report was titled “The Strategic Importance of Gibraltar to the United Kingdom” and submitted to Peter Carrington, defence secretary in Edward Heath’s government. ● Using Gibraltar as a NATO spy base was kept secret from Spain, which had been ruled for decades by the dictator General Franco, because the British knew it would be controversial. The report noted: “Spain objects to Gibraltar’s status as a ‘foreign base on Spanish territory’ and regards its use by NATO as a potential threat to Spanish security.”