“Very neatly, [the sovereignty issue] has been encapsulated to all sides’ satisfaction and yet it doesn’t stop us moving on to matters of cooperation,” Sir Ben said. “There was a lot to cooperate on,” Sir Ben said. Sir Ben said people’s concerns about security could not be dismissed even if facts pointed in another direction. Sir Ben said these were reasonable assurances that reflected how the Ministry of Defence already operated. The Gibraltar treaty showed that it was possible to reach “a very pragmatic outcome that is balanced on all sides” and could offer “a really useful guide”.