GIBRALTAR, Nov 8: British-Spanish negotiations on the future of Gibraltar were left hanging on Friday after Gibraltarians overwhelmingly rejected a proposal for shared sovereignty in a referendum.

Although Thursday’s referendum is not binding and the Spanish government described it as “illegal”, Gibraltar officials believe it will be difficult for London in particular to ignore the strength of feeling among the British colony’s 30,000 people against sharing sovereignty with Spain.

“We hope the British government will now take note of this and honour their commitment to respect the wishes of the people of Gibraltar,” Gibraltar’s Chief Minister Peter Caruana told a news conference on Friday.

Caruana, who called the referendum to demonstrate the strength of local opposition to the British-Spanish negotiations, earlier urged London to abandon any idea of joint sovereignty in the wake of the crushing referendum result.

“Massive ‘no’ puts Blair on the spot,” the Gibraltar Chronicle’s front page headline said, referring to British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and has been trying to recover it ever since.

On a heavy turnout, almost 99 percent of the more than 18,000 Gibraltarians who cast valid votes opposed Britain giving Spain a share of sovereignty over its colony attached to Spain’s southern coast.

Only 187 voted in favour of the idea as Gibraltarians showed their firm determination to remain British. British or Gibraltar flags hung from hundreds of windows on polling day and hundreds of people waving British flags gathered at election headquarters to cheer the result at 2:40 a.m. (0140 GMT).

But security officer Eric Rowbottom, who voted “no” in Thursday’s referendum, said the referendum result was not about wanting to be Spanish or English.

“It’s (about) what the British government and Spanish government were trying to do with the joint sovereignty of Gibraltar,” he said. “They can’t ignore us just like that. We were born here in Gibraltar. My grandfathers are buried here.”

UK ACKNOWLEDGES CONCERNS: Britain’s European Minister Denis MacShane acknowledged on Friday that many Gibraltarians had serious concerns about a dialogue with Spain.