In a new column for the Olive Press, ex-Gibraltar Chronicle news editor Franciso Oliva supplies his musings on the long-running McGrail saga.

AS the McGrail report is finally delivered today, it is time to reflect on what an unprecedented exercise in democratic openness, accountability and fairness it has been – the likes of which has never been seen or experienced in Gibraltar before.

Structured upon the principle of full disclosure, everything about it has been extraordinary; a monument to critical and methodical scrutiny that underlines the maturity and credibility of our institutions.

The early retirement of Ian McGrail, the ex-commissioner, amid a storm of allegations of impropriety at the highest level of the administration, sent shockwaves that reverberated in all directions. 

          In fairness it was the Chief Minister who picked up the gauntlet by convening and funding the tribunal tasked with assessing the circumstances that led to the unforeseen departure of the Rock’s top law enforcement officer. 

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The long-running McGrail inquiry, named after the former Police Commissioner (pictured), finally delivered its report today

          Although it has set the taxpayer back by £8m, it is money well spent to remedy the social consternation and reputational damage caused to Gibraltar by the bad international press received, and to facilitate a much needed catharsis after the tension, stress and misgivings created in the community by the legal, political and constitutional fall-out of this prolonged crisis. 

          In his inaugural address on the opening day of the hearings held in the Garrison Library, inquiry counsel Julian Santos quoted the prestigious UK jurist Sir Stephen Sedley KC who described the process as ‘the organising of controversy into a form more catholic than litigation, but less anarchic than street-fighting’.

It would be difficult to think of a better way to open hostilities than that. Sir Steven is a rara avis if ever there was one: a communist with scholarly talent and a sense of humour.  

Francisco Oliva

          Public opinion has been afforded privileged, almost fly-on-the-wall access to the intricate and usually classified interaction of leading state actors in the corridors of power (understood in the widest sense of the word), including executive transactions with captains of industry and military chiefs, which normally and unexceptionally transpire behind closed doors, well beyond the glare of publicity. 

          This is not the flickering shadows in Plato’s cavern, the title-tattle, appearances and rumour mongering of the ignorant, toxic sewers of social media, but an exposition of facts and a meticulous analysis of process and procedure; in effect a dissection of essential forms upon which the integrity of our political and legal system is established, in the search for the closest version of objective, unalloyed truth, or indeed a likely pattern of multiple complex truths charged with nuanced meaning, perhaps far removed from the subjective expectations of the principal antagonists. 

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The stately Garrison Library, which hosted the inquiry and a very old dragon tree – beautiful and famous tree that dates back to the origin of the building. Wikicommons

          The degree of rigour and efficiency in the painstaking examination of evidence, and in how the inquiry completed its work over the days of April and May last year purpose, (and then the further three days of the reconvened session in April 2025), denoted top level professional thoroughness and proficiency which we are not accustomed to seeing very often in daily affairs, in any sphere of the public administration or quite frankly in most areas of society by comparison. 

          Save for the absolutely justified restriction notices that excluded sensitive matters of national security from the scope of the inquiry – though not from the review of material evidence by learned judge Sir Peter Openshaw – Gibraltarians have been gifted a unique and enthralling peepshow, a spectacle more gripping, more real and more entertaining than any Netflix series could ever aspire to achieve.

In allegorical terms the emperor has been stripped of his imperial robes and consented to be left standing, maybe not naked on the street shopfront, but in the flimsiest of underwear.

In non-allegorical terms, it is Gibraltar as you have never seen it before.

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          There have been staggering, surreal and inconceivable scenes, absurd situations and light-heartedness, moments when what transpired was worthy of an Otto Preminger court-room drama, while the multiple perspectives, narrators and viewpoints of one single event would have been appreciated by no less a silver screen genius as Stanley Kubrick.

The potential literary and cinematic treasure trove of this once in a lifetime inquisition into the fault lines of the state, the separation of powers and the many shades of grey in the practical discharge of legitimate authority, should inspire political analysts, serious writers and artists in the years to come.

Sir Peter Openshaw chaired the inquiry – and delivered his report today

          But no degree of levity can mask the substantial underlying importance and gravitas of a process that places us in the first division of democratic good practice, and compellingly refutes the habitual barbs of the UK press and their misguided epithets, insults and exaggerated characterisations of Banana Republic and outrageous comparisons with Putin’s Russia, or even from the unfortunate comment attributed to one of the UK lawyers in the McGrail camp, that Gibraltar was not a territory where rule of law applied – notwithstanding which he has not found it ethically unpalatable to cash substantial professional fees from the very government that presides over what he believes to be a rogue domain.         

          What we have seen unfold every day on our TV screens is the very antithesis of the vitriol the UK press has heaped on us, and while the legal strategy of participants is a matter for them, they should be mindful of the repercussions of inflammatory statements that are instantly disproved by the practical reality of the inquiry.

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          Such is the nature of the legal profession, a necessary cog in the wheels of justice, full of unexpected twists and turns.

Who could have anticipated at the height of the bitter confrontations in parliament between the present Chief Minister and his predecessor, that years down the line Sir Peter himself would be the legal counsel representing his erstwhile political nemesis?  

          Listening to the detailed evidence by the former commissioner followed by a menagerie of figures from the progressive establishment has been a fascinating experience.

The relentless parade of distinguished and not so distinguished faces, archetypes in great measure, through the stand to face forensic cross-examination under oath in the rarefied atmosphere of the Garrison Library, has been nothing short of enlightening.

          Each core participant submitted written witness statements which were drilled down in individual turns by the inquiry counsel, distilled even further by legal representatives of the contending parties.

In addition to this exhaustive probe, the release of all relevant correspondence, documents, audio transcripts, digital media, emails, minutes of meetings and WhatsApp messages, constituted a feast of transparency of the highest significance.

Of course, the inquiry looked at events that occurred between four to six years ago and the natural memory lapses by participants, which has drawn much cynical criticism, or the irretrievability of material, whether through deletion or other causes, that could have added further spice to the investigation is regrettable, though not beyond the realm of human comprehension.  

Ian McGrail and his legal team arriving at the Garrison Library

          Sceptics who are quick to disparage the process should reflect on the fact no-one would emerge unscathed were they to be locked in a room for five weeks, interrogated by an army of tenacious Kings Counsels under the razor-sharp eye of a judge, after disclosing all private communications with relatives, friends and work colleagues. 

          The resultant contradictions, errors, oversights, omissions, inconsistencies, conflicts of interests and misinterpretations would be rife, not just in the case of a Governor, Chief Minister, Attorney General, head of a major legal firm, indeed commissioner of police, or other authority, but with any ordinary person as well.

The fallibility of the human condition – and its limitations – would always, inevitably shine through in this inquiry. 

          The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth is a fine ideal. But life as we know it would not be possible, much less sustainable with such a limitless degree of disclosure, even for a short period of time. 

Editor’s Note: 

F Oliva is a 62 year old Gibraltarian writer and former news editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle. He writes in a personal capacity. All articles in the series were written in May 2024. His new book ‘El Niño de la Verja’ published by Editorial Ediciones (Madrid) will be launched in Gibraltar today at the Gibraltar Heritage Trust bookshop – November 6, 2025.

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