In response to the statement from the GSD's Roy Clinton, the Chief Minister said: "I am surprised by Roy's statement. A Consultation Paper would only be relevant in the context of an issue on which the Government has the freedom to choose to move in one direction or another. Here we are in the process of working out negotiating options in direct consultation with all the representative bodies that have an interest in this aspect of the negotiation. As a Government we have views we have aired publicly and which Sir Joe Bossano shared with Mr Clinton on public television last week. We will continue our detailed consultation work with the affected parties and our detailed work with the United Kingdom as we prepare for the treaty negotiations. Pointless press releases won’t help to better prepare Gibraltar for the negotiation to come."

ENDS