Spain has launched another attack on Britain over the status of Gibraltar.

The Spanish Foreign Minister, Abel Matutes, said today that Britain seemed to have absolved itself of any responsibility for trying to reach a settlement with Spain over Gibraltar, which Spain claims as its legitimate territory.

Mr Matutes accused Britain of encouraging Gibraltar's leaders to act as if it was an independent country.

He alleged that the British colony was a haven for smuggling and money-laundering. The BBC correspondent in Madrid says that this latest Spanist attack over Gibraltar is probably a response to a recent speech by the Gibraltar Chief Minister, Peter Carauana, in which he said that while Gibraltar wanted to modernise its relationship with London, it would remain under British sovereignty.