The Government has already indicated that it has no difficulty in working together with the Opposition on matters relating to the potential withdrawal of the United Kingdom and Gibraltar from the European Union. They feel the statement issued by the Opposition "is therefore as regrettable as it is presumptuous."

"In the first place the Opposition has to understand that the Government has been given a mandate to govern by 68% of the electorate. The business of Government continues. There are matters that need to be discussed in both London or Brussels which are questions of Government business. This will continue to happen." says the Govt.

"Secondly, the Opposition wrote to the Government and proposed a Select Committee as the framework of cooperation between the two sides of the House. This was something that the Government had already considered even before the letter arrived. The Opposition was told that this would be discussed by the Cabinet and a reply would be forthcoming after that. The Cabinet has not met for the last two Mondays which is why the Opposition have not had a reply.

The Opposition must understand that their letter coincided both with the budget session of Parliament and with the aftermath of the referendum result - in this context the Government can be forgiven for not yet having issued a formal response to the letter.

The people of Gibraltar will never forgive the Opposition if they choose to play politics with this matter at such a critical juncture in our history. The Government is engaged in exploring all the options following the outcome of the referendum. We are leaving no stone unturned. The main consideration in this process will always be the best interests of the people of Gibraltar and not the egos of the Opposition.

Finally, the Chief Minister has not proposed a second referendum, he simply answered a question from the Financial Times as to the circumstances in which that second referendum might be legitimate."