Senior EU officials allegedly see MEP Claude Moraes as a “stumbling block” and have asked for his prompt removal from the role of chamber rapporteur after he repeatedly blocked no deal visa proceedings. Mr Moraes explained: “The inclusion of this footnote on Gibraltar was a political act which is now being defended by 27 member states and the commission in an unprecedented way.” The revelation was picked up on by BBC Brussels correspondent Adam Fleming on BBC Brexitcast.

He explained that “the legislation that would put the UK on the list of countries where you wouldn’t need a visa to come to the EU” has now “gone through five rounds of negotiation between the EU parliament, council and commission.”

Mr Fleming continued: “The sticking point is that infamous footnote where it describes Gibraltar as a ‘colony’ of the British crown, which the UK objected to as a member state at the time.

“Didn’t get their way, the legislation went to the next stage.

“The next phase was negotiations with the EU parliament.

“The rapporteur, the MEP leading parliament’s work on this, is Claude Moraes: a British Labour MP who has been fighting tooth and nail to get that footnote changed to something that’s less offensive to British eyes and ears.

“They’ve gone thrush five rounds of negotiation and he’s not got his way.

“He’s been asked in the last few days by some quite senior people to step away from his job overseeing that legislation and he said no.

“And now it’s going to be in the hands of senior MPs who will oversee whether they remove him from the committee.

“Because he is seen as a stumbling block to getting that legislation through because he’s fighting to tip-ex out the evil footnote.”

Mr Moraes vitriolically criticised the European establishment, saying: “For five weeks the pressure has been systematic.

“The attacks in the Spanish press have been very brutal, very personal, and consistently so.

“There has been pressure by all the political groups in the European Parliament with Spanish members.

“There have been meetings where I have been attacked systematically – it has been an intimidatory atmosphere.”

The European parliament’s speak, Antonio Tajani, formally asked Moraes to stand down on Tuesday morning. The MEP’s subsequent refusal means the parliament’s president is likely to seek a way to force him out of the role.

Mr Moraes said he had no doubt that Spain was behind the attempt to unseat him or that it was linked to the coming general election in which the socialist government is seeking to minimise the damage from the growing populist party, Vox.

Mr Moraes said: “I have kept on because there have been very many members who have been supportive, who realise that this is a political situation, with an election in Spain.

“But my position is that if the European parliament submits to this sort of behaviour when there is a national election on, the whole raison d’être of the European Parliament is removed. The legislation is supposed to be made on the basis of the legislation.

“This was contingency legislation without a political element. But there has been an opportunistic line taken which has put me in an impossible position. It is an abuse of power.”

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