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No 95/99
Date: 1st June 1999 Sunday's Spanish ABC newspaper carries an article in which it is alleged that the Chief Minister has commissioned a report from local law firm Stagnetto & Co on political matters. This is completely untrue. Neither the Chief Minister nor the Government, have commissioned, requested or sought any such study or report, whether from the party alleged by ABC or from anybody else. In February 1999 Spanish Foreign Secretary Abel Matutes made similar allegations. On that occasion he said that the report had been commissioned from a leading UK law firm. The Government denied it in press release 22199. ABC is the PP Government's preferred media for planted stories. In January 1998 the Chief Minister received from Mr Stagnetto an unsolicited, courtesy copy of a document containing his own views on several political issues affecting Gibraltar. Government receives many such papers. Despite the Spanish Government's apparent willingness to mislead its own public opinion, we must not allow them to do the same here. |