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Dr Joseph Garcia said the European Council had betrayed Gibraltars residents, who voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU in last Junes historic referendum.

A draft document on the blocs Brexit strategy said no agreement on the EUs future relationship with the UK would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain, giving Madrid a potential veto.

In the guidelines, the European Council identified future arrangements for the Rock as one of its 26 core principles.

It wrote: After the UK leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the UK may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without agreement between Spainand the UK.

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The European Council bent over backwards to give Spain something over and above anyone else

Dr Joseph Garcia

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Dr Garcia, Gibraltars Deputy Chief Minister and Brexit spokesman, regarded the EUs actions as a slap in the face for Gibraltars residents, who have relied on the bloc to protect them from Madrids aggressive attempts to snatch back sovereignty of the region.

He said: Let me say, 96 per cent of Gibraltar voted to remain in the European Union, and I think circumstances were driven because we have a large hostile neighbour next door that is trying to take Gibraltar over and European Union law has provided a degree of protection for Gibraltar against the different excessive governments in Madrid.

"For example, border fluidity which the European Commission at the request of David Cameron got involved in 2013. They sent inspectors to the border many times since then to make sure the Spaniards behave themselves in terms of the intensity of controls being conducted on people using the border at that particular time and were facing queues of up to eight hours waiting to cross in our direction.

I think that is something we should bear in mind, and why a large proportion of Gibraltar voted to remain in the European Union. "Weve come to terms with the fact that the UK is leaving the European Union and Gibraltar is now leaving with it.

There was one particular area which annoyed many people here, and that is the fact the European Council decided to give Spain a second veto, in what is known as Clause 24 in the Councils negotiating guidelines, over the application of a future relationship agreement between the UK and the EU, and the application of that agreement to Gibraltar."

Dr Garcia said the decision by the European Council to allow Spain the apparent veto on Gibraltars inclusion in any Brexit deal caused considerable concern and annoyance on the Rock.

He said: That was a slap in the face to the 96 per cent who voted to remain in the European Union, that is very much how people see it and people were extremely annoyed by that. What is the practical effect of that decision?

"Well, at the moment all member states of the European Union have a veto on anything relating to Brexit including Spain as well. What Spain secured in those guidelines is a second veto in relation to the application of the UK-EU deal to any aspect of the deal it is unhappy with, and that veto will affect Gibraltar only not the United Kingdom or the wider European Union.

That is totally unacceptable to Gibraltar, and we think it is absolutely disgraceful. It may have undermined the 96 per cent support the EU obtained in the referendum at this time last year.

Madrid, in the wake of Britains decision to leave the EU, said it would only consider agreeing to a deal involving Gibraltar if Madrid is given joint sovereignty of the Rock.

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Gibraltar has its own political system that makes many decisions within the territory but issues like defence and foreign affairs are determined by the UK Government in London

In February, Spanish prime minister Mariano Rajoy offered to assume joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, so its residents were not left without access to the EUs single market.

He said: I am absolutely convinced that we will reach an agreement so that these people will not be affected by political decisions.

Dr Garcia accused the European Council of bending over backwards to help Madrid in its desperate and aggressive attempts to take control of Gibraltar.

The Deputy Chief Minister said: It was something that caused considerable concern in Gibraltar, and also considerable annoyance.

People were not happy to see the European Council bend over backwards and give Spain something over and above what the other member states of the European Union are going to have.

The wording of the veto says it applies to any future agreement between the UK and the European Union, which suggests to us it doesnt apply to the exit deal we were talking about earlier.

That in itself is totally unacceptable because citizens of Gibraltar are EU nationals.

"The European Union likes to go around the world preaching about human rights, democracy and the defence of minorities this is actually a case where they have betrayed the human rights and legitimate expectations of people who live in Gibraltar.

All EU citizens who live in Gibraltar expected to be treated in the same way as EU citizens who live anywhere else. They had the right to ask for a veto if they want to, but the Council should not have bent over backwards and agreed to a Spanish veto.

Speaking after triggering Article 50, Theresa May vowed to defend the interests of Gibraltar, insisting she will not enter into negotiations over the Rock's sovereignty.

The Prime Minister said: "We are absolutely steadfast in our support of Gibraltar, its people and its economy.

"Our position has not changed. We have been firm in our commitment never to enter arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes, nor to enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.

"The letter is a notification in relation to our withdrawing from the European Union. Gibraltar is not a separate member of the EU, nor is it a part of the UK for the purposes of EU law, but we are clear that it is covered by our exit negotiations.

"We have committed to involving Gibraltar fully in the work that we are doing. We have been having regular discussions with the Government of Gibraltar, and we will continue to work with them in the future."

Express.co.uk have contacted the European Council for comment.

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'Absolutely disgraceful' Gibraltar furious at EU for helping Spain SNATCH the Rock - Express.co.uk