Walter Finch
GIBRALTAR’S political turmoil has deepened following explosive revelations that the government authorised nearly £2 million in taxpayer money to outgoing police officers.
The move has now been linked to so-called whistleblower testimony in the McGrail Inquiry, where a number of former officers testified in favour of the government and against former Chief of Police Ian McGrail, who was forced to retire in 2020.
According to the newly published report by retired Principal Auditor Tony Sacramento, £1.89 million was paid out between 2018 and 2024 to ex-officers of the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP).
Many of the recipients were allegedly ‘bad apples’ already facing dismissal or had been subject to serious disciplinary proceedings.
“In a number of cases, the officers concerned were already in the process of being dismissed, or had faced serious disciplinary matters. Nonetheless, generous golden handshakes were awarded,” the report states.
The auditor said the payouts raised ‘significant concerns about the misuse of public funds, and whether public funds were used to secure favourable statements or avoid damaging revelations.’
Most explosively, the report directly connects the payments to the 2024 McGrail Inquiry, which is examining the forced resignation of Ian McGrail and allegations of improper political pressure by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and others.
“I believe that a significant number of police officers that were transferred from the Royal Gibraltar Police could have been granted protection under the provisions of Part IV A Public Interest Disclosures of the Employment Act as a result of the 2024 McGrail Inquiry,” Sacramento wrote.
McGrail’s lawyer, Charles Gomez, has formally requested that the Royal Gibraltar Police reopen its investigation into potential offences of bribery, perverting the course of justice, and misconduct in public office.
If the RGP fails to act, Gomez warns the Governor will be asked to launch an independent investigation into what McGrail is calling a ‘corrupt’ scheme personally administered by the Chief Minister and now subject to a government cover-up.
The government has rejected the allegations, insisting all settlements were made in good faith and with legal advice.
In a statement, Number Six said: “The government does not, and has never, taken political affiliation into account when making these decisions.”
It claimed that some of the individuals who received payouts were aligned with the opposition GSD – a fact not mentioned in the Auditor’s report.
Picardo has also denounced the report as ‘biased’ and ‘sensationalist,’ blaming it for inciting public anger against him and even for inciting death threats.
In a dramatic development, a 38-year-old local man was arrested by the RGP on suspicion of making threats to kill and improper use of a public electronic communications network.
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He has since been released on bail while investigations continue.
“As a result of the sensationalist nature and language of the former Principal Auditor’s biased report, I am now the subject of death threats which I have today reported to the Royal Gibraltar Police,” Picardo told GBC.
“I am confident that we have acted properly in controlling overtime like never before, in resolving issues in the collection of refuse, in properly settling legal claims against the Government and every aspect of our functions as a government,” he added.
The latest revelations come amid a wider storm over governance in Gibraltar, as the Chief Minister faces a motion of no confidence and growing scrutiny over a system critics describe as patronage politics – one that allegedly uses taxpayer money to reward loyalty and punish dissent.
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