According to Andalucía government MP, Juan José López Garzón, president Zapatero "has asked the British government to ensure that Royal Navy submarines only make stopovers in the port of Gibraltar in cases of dire need or emergency."

Mr López Garzón went on to explain that Mr Zapatero also requested that the stay of the nuclear submarine HMS Trenchant "be as short as possible," and that assurances to this effect had been received. The regional government was informed of the sub's arrival by both the Foreign Affairs ministry and the Guardia Civil early on Saturday morning.

Although the Royal Navy has insisted on the purely routine nature of the short visit, the Verdemar Ecologists in Action association has described the sub as a "floating bomb" with a "black" record, following what it describes as a "radioactive incident" in Portuguese waters.