Gibraltar Corruption

Is there still Rule of Law in Gibraltar? Is there corruption in the local police?

Are employees' Human Rights protected? Is there a mafia in Gibraltar?

How corrupt are the Courts in Gibraltar? Is Entain a bad employer?

Is Gibraltar's police force trustworthy?

UPDATE: On 2 April 2025, the news broke that a new Police Commissioner was appointed. Commander Owain Ceri Richards from the MET Police was appointed by the Governor, Lieutenant General Sir Ben Bathurst, who represents the FCDO in Gibraltar. Mr Richards becomes the first non-Gibraltarian Police Commissioner since 1997. This appointment of a non-Gibraltarian in a very influential position is not a stand-alone event: last year, Matthew Happold was appointed as Judge of the Supreme Court in Gibraltar. He was a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg and, since 2014, has been a member of Luxembourg’s national human rights institution. The Courts, like the police, are a responsibility of the Governor, and the FCDO, so a pattern emerges where London seems to be very unhappy about how things are being done in Gibraltar. Instead of going for direct rule, the FCDO seems to be using a softer approach by appointing UK candidates who are not corruptable.

In this page I will explain why I believe that Gibraltar's police force is corrupt and is letting itself use for party political manipulations, including unlawful arrests and false imprisonment to silence political opponents of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and refusing to investigate corruption. I made the British Government aware of these malpractices on many occasions and did recieve replies from the FCDO as a result. On at least 2 occasions, the FCDO did intervene on my behalf in Gibraltar's internal affairs, proving that the FCDO, and the UK Government, are well aware of the malversations at the highest levels of Gibraltar's Government and its sycophants in the courts and the police force. The latest reply I received from the FCDO dates back from 16 May 2024, after I sent them a further series of complaints, with evidence, about all the strange events that were happening in the courts with my court case against Entain. On this occasion, the FCDO apparently got nervous and they told me to f*ck off and leave them alone. It is noteworthy that the head (Permanent Under-Secretary) of the FCDO in this time was Sir Philip Barton, deputy Governor of Gibraltar from 2005 till 2008, with a spell as acting Governor in 2006. This leaves the possibility that Sir Barton has to date some loyalties to certain individuals he worked with or met during his time in Gibraltar. Sir Barton, quite unexpectedly, left the FCDO in January 2025.

Gibraltar's police force, the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP), is the oldest police force in the Commonwealth of Nations outside the United Kingdom. It was formed in 1830, only 9 months after the Metropolitan Police in London was founded. The RGP used to be well respected but since a few years there are widespread rumours of police cover ups and corruption. There seems to be a high level of political influence in the RGP, which goes against the Gibraltar Constitution Order 2006, as the police and the judiciary come under the Governor and the FCDO. Below, I will explain my own experiences with the RGP, and they are not good.

The McGrail inquiry, although not concluded, has confirmed for many Gibraltar residents that The RGP will not investigate politicians from the Government party and people protected by them. The McGrail inquiry was set up to examine the events surrounding the retirement of Police Commissioner Ian McGrail who claims that he was forced into early retirement in June 2020 after executing a search warrant against James Levy, Senior Partner of the Hassans law firm, and a close associate of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo. That this matter is a very serious one, affecting one of the pillars of Gibraltar's democracy, is shown by Transparency International UK's warning of corruption at the highest level of the Government of Gibraltar.

If an elected politician stands publicly accused of corruption and abuses of power, this person will normally stand down and await the outcome of an independent investigation. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo did not do this, he keeps clinging on to power and remains in a position where he can influence his own, and his cronies', interests to the maximum. The rumours of a cabal of Picardo's family, friends and sycophants acquiring significant parts of Gibraltar's power base and financial interests are rife.

Around the McGrail inquiry, there have been allegations of inducement of witnesses, police officers, by the Government in exchange for "digging up dirt" on Mr McGrail. There have been arrests of police officers for alledgedly making false statements. All of this caused a serious drop in morale in the RGP, resulting in an exodus of experienced police officers which depleted the RGP's ranks by up to 20%. The RGP is seriously understaffed at present. Mr McGrail himself was accused, but quickly acquitted, of sexual assault said to have taken place in 2018. A few weeks before the McGrail inquiry hearing started, Gibraltar's Government pushed through a law to restrict public access and disclosure of evidence and then quickly filed a Restriction Notice amid huge public unrest in Gibraltar and abroad.

It is significant that for the McGrail inquiry, a Judge from the UK was brought in and police officers from the UK were sent over to do the investigations. Both the judiciary and the police are responsibilities of the GOVERNOR, who reports to the FCDO (i.e. the UK Government), and NOT of the local Government in Gibraltar. The decision to send UK authorities to investigate corruption at the highest levels of Gibraltar's Government must have been taken at the very top of the UK Government. It shows that the UK Government does not trust Gibraltar's police and does not trust Gibraltar's judiciary. When one reads between the lines, it indicates that the UK Government believes it highly likely that Gibraltar's police and judiciary are corrupt.

I agree with most of the public perception that the RGP is a police force which lost its independence by the heavy handed political influence from Chief Minister Picardo and his inner circle. On top of this, it's my experience that if you're perceived as a foreigner or an outsider by the RGP, they will do little for you and try to brush the matter under the carpet. Some of my experiences:

- I filed a crime report because a high ranking civil servant in the CSRO had, without my permission, changed my application for British citizenship and then this change was used against me to turn down my application. The RGP interviewed me, I handed over the evidence, and that was the end of it. It was all brushed under the carpet.

- I filed a crime report for defamation in The New People, Fabian Picardo's party political newspaper known for its vicious and unwarrented attacks on percieved political opponents. The RGP refused to intervene.

- At a certain point a dispute arose between my landlord and I about the correct amount of rent to be paid, after I found out that I had been illegaly overcharged for many years. The landlord sent thugs to my apartment to intimidate me and I called in the police. An officer attended, took my declaration, then visited the landlord and asked him to desist the harassment. After this, the thugs returned and I called the RGP again. This time I was told by the RGP that harassment, a criminal offence, was allowed because it was a civil dispute. This statement was obviously ridiculous.

- I have been publicly critising Chief Minister Picardo for many years for his arrogant and dictatorial political attitude which has turned Gibraltar into a Banana Republic. In early 2025, Picardo decided that I needed to be silenced, resulting in my unlawful arrest and police intimidation.

- In March 2025, I filed a crime report with the RGP alleging corruption at several levels in Gibraltar's judiciary. The RGP's initial reaction was very evasive and they claimed that they could not download the evidence I provided, although some of the evidence are judgments which can be downloaded from the Government's official website. I do not believe the RGP's statement that they cannot download files from the internet. My crime report is being dealt with by a police constable, no one of the higher ranks seems to be involved. On 24 March 2025, I received a blank email from a police constable (PC 116), with a police sergeant (PS 190) copied in regarding my crime report. I sent my evidence files to the police sergeant but have not heard back since. I made it very clear to the RGP that it is highly likely that the people I accuse of alleged corruption will hurry to destroy evidence but the RGP doesn't seem to care. This reeks of a cover up. In my crime report to the RGP, I requested that Mr Cathal Yeats, Assistant Police Commissioner, should not be involved with the investigation as his brother, Judge Liam Yeats from the Supreme Court, is named in it as potentially trying to cover up wrongdoings in the Employment Tribunal. The RGP investigation never started, what proves to me that the police and judiciary are covering up potential crimes as and when required by their political masters.

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