Government have released a statement where it roundly condemns the individuals who are responsible for the incident at sea in which a Royal Gibraltar Police vessel was shot at by the occupants of a RHIB.

The Chief Minister, the Hon Fabian Picardo QC MP said : "This type of incident endangers the lives of police officers and all those at sea and confirms intelligence which the RGP has been aware of for some time. As a result, the RGP have been well prepared for this type of escalation by those who find their criminal actions repeatedly thwarted by the great work which officers carry out at sea and on land. This type of violence reflects the desperation of criminal gangs. In that sense, the unacceptable escalation is a recognition of the successes that our seaborne law enforcement agencies have scored and will continue to score against these gangs. Such incidents must also underscore for the whole community the risk to which officers put themselves in doing their jobs protecting the rest of us and keeping illicit cargoes out of our waters and drugs off our streets. Once again, this was a joint operation with Spanish law enforcement agencies, also demonstrating how well Gibraltar cooperates with the Spanish law enforcement agencies at a real and operational level. Above all, we must ensure the safety and security of those who keep us safe and secure by ensuring they have the resources necessary to do their jobs safely, something we are totally committed to."