BBC News - UK 'sorry' for shooting at 'Spanish flag' buoy

According to BBC News, the UK has apologised to Spain after the Royal Navy used a buoy with the 'Spanish colours'... for target practice!

This is totally ridiculous! The Royal Navy has been using a flag like this, known as 'flag no 1', for target practice probably since Nelson's day... and certainly since long before I was in the Royal Navy.... and that's 30 years ago! Damn 'Sloppies' will whinge and complain about everything and anything in Gibraltar waters!

I've no idea why the UK is saying 'sorry'!! They should tell the Spanish to bugger off out of Gibraltar waters... and mind their own business!

It might help if the Spanish authorities learned about the International Flags Signal Code! They would see the flag in question, (shown on the Flags on the right), as used by the Royal Navy, the US Navy and NATO forces, which Spain is part of, includes what is known as 'Flag No 1'... which admittedly is very similar to the Spanish national flag... but is NOT the Spanish flag. It's just the flag representing the number 1! The Royal Navy use this for shooting target buoys, simply because of it's easy visibility!

Here's a video of HMS Scimitar, part of the Royal Navy's Gibraltar Squadron, being filmed retrieving the bouy after 'words' were exchanged with a unit of the Spanish Guardia Civil's Marine section:



One can see the buoy clearly in one of the sequences. It is obvious that this was NOT the Spanish national flag! The Spanish authorities are just intent on mischief... and 'winding up' the UK.

The UK should stop appeasing the Spanish... and all their whims... whingeing and complaints. What the UK should do is enforce the integrity of Gibraltar's territorial waters... in NO uncertain terms... before there is a serious incident!