Britain warns Spain against escalating Gibraltar tensions

Britain on Wednesday urged Spain to act to ease diplomatic tensions over Gibraltar, warning a further escalation of a dispute over its overseas territory would damage both countries. The two sides have been bickering for months about the territory, a small rocky outcrop on Spain's southern coast that Madrid ceded to Britain 300 years ago but now wants to reclaim. In the latest of a series of diplomatic incidents, Britain said Spanish officials had breached protocol by opening two of its diplomatic bags at the border with Gibraltar on Friday. "We are maintaining strong pressure on the Spanish government to de-escalate the current tensions," David Lidington, Britain's Europe minister, told parliament.