Spain warned Britain it faces a permanent hard border on Gibraltar on Friday after imposing surprise checks on the Rock’s frontier that resulted in “huge” queues. Madrid has heaped pressure on Britain over Gibraltar since Sir Keir Starmer last week surrendered the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands but the Prime Minister insists the Rock,

Spanish police briefly re-established border controls for Gibraltar on Friday, the Gibraltar government said, causing long lines of rush hour workers on both sides of the border as the enclave also began asking to see passports in response.

Gibraltar's chief minister Fabian Picardo said that he received the notification last night of the changes at the border, which has seen passport checks suspended during Brexit negotiations.