Last weekend was Gibraltar Day. The day commemorates the anniversary of the referendum in 1967 when Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to stay British. They are as proud of being British now as they were then.
Today they are grappling with what Brexit means for them. A third of their workforce commutes from Spain daily to work on the Rock. For them preserving freedom of movement is crucial to maintaining the local economy. And Spain will never accept British sovereignty. There is no doubt that Spain will try and use Brexit to extend their influence over our territory.
But these people are as British as you and I. And they need our support. In taking forward Brexit we must not forget our obligations to our fellow Brits in Gibraltar.
We can control freedom of movement by removing entitlements to benefits in our welfare system. By that action we will ensure that only those that want to work will come to our country. But as a country we will still recruit nurses from Spain. We will still recruit teachers from Ireland. And we will still need Eastern Europeans to pick our fruit. Those who cloak themselves in the union flag and argued that Brexit would reduce immigration have misled the British public. Immigrant Labour contributes more to the British economy than it takes out. We need European migration as much as Gibraltar does. So lets deal with freedom of movement in a mature way that suits our country.