Gibraltar's military commander found dead in pool

GIBRALTAR - The commander of Britain's military forces in Gibraltar, Commodore David White, was found dead in his swimming pool on Saturday afternoon, officials say.

"Police investigations into the death of Commodore White are continuing and we are therefore unable to comment further at this stage," the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

The cause of death is not yet known but it is not being treated as suspicious, official sources said.

They said White, in his early 50s, was the most senior member of the British armed forces in Gibraltar after the colony's governor, who is commander-in-chief but whose role is symbolic.

Gibraltar, a tiny territory on the southern Spanish coast, was captured by an Anglo-Dutch naval force in 1704 and ceded to Britain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The strategically located rocky outcrop has had a British military base ever since.

Spain claims sovereignty over Gibraltar and the colony has been a frequent source of tension between Madrid and London.

Spain, Britain and Gibraltar last month held the first three-way talks over the territory's sovereignty in the 300-year dispute.

- REUTERS