A poll on the future of Gibraltar, run by the Daily Telegraph, received thousands of votes from the ministry of defence in Spain.
The question was posed “Is Gibraltar British or Spanish?” After circulating on social media sites in Spain and reaching the country's defence ministry, the vast majority of nearly one million responses were in favour of Spain.
Analysis revealed that more than five thousand votes came from computers in Spain’s ministry of defence. Other votes for Spain came from social media campaigns on Facebook, Twitter, and others.
With around 930,000 votes registered, Spain gained 89.96%, compared to 10.04% for Britain.
Of those voting from Spain, 98.89% opted for Spain. Of those voting from the UK, however, the response was more measured, with 71.02% voting for British control and 28.98% choosing Spain.
In Gibraltar itself, 99.79% of voters said they wanted the British Overseas Territory to remain British.
Spain has been trying to claim back the territory which it ceded to Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. It has been a British Overseas Territory since.
Tensions have been steadily mounting over the summer and remain high. The Foreign Office said on Friday that it is to lodge a protest with Madrid after an armed stand-off between Spanish and Royal Navy boats took place on Wednesday. There was a minor collision between a Gibraltar Defence Police boat and a Guardia Civil patrol boat during the reported incident.
