An official inquiry has opened into allegations that Gibraltar’s most senior policeman was forced to leave the force after investigating alleged government fraud.
Headed by a retired UK High Court judge, the inquiry held its first public session in the British overseas territory on Monday, tasked with probing the circumstances leading to the early retirement of former police commissioner Ian McGrail.
Mr McGrail, whose 36-year-long career ended only halfway through his term in the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP)’s top job, has claimed that he was pressed into early retirement in June 2020 after seeking to execute a search warrant against a person who had a close relationship with Gibraltar’s chief minister, Fabian Picardo.
Mr McGrail’s lawyers will tell the inquiry that their client was “muscled out” after looking into “misconduct and corruption” at the highest levels of government.
Mr Picardo’s government insists that there was no conspiracy and that Mr McGrail left his job because he had lost the confidence, not just of the chief minister, but also of the then-interim governor of Gibraltar, the only official who had the power to ask for the police chief’s resignation.
Since its formation, the McGrail inquiry has generated a swirl of accusations of wrongdoing that have rocked Gibraltar’s highest echelons of power.
The government has provided a list of incidents it argues were handled badly by Mr McGrail, who has also faced, and been acquitted of, a sexual assault charge since his resignation.
Meanwhile, authorities have been accused of mounting a campaign to discredit Mr McGrail, who claimed to have an unblemished record when he stepped down.