BY OUR MADRID STAFF

SPAIN SAYS THAT Brits who come to the country on holidays no longer have an automatic right to breathe European Union air after leaving the trading bloc, and will now face being taxed for using Iberian oxygen during their stay.

“Up until Brexit, when the UK left the European Union, the Brits, who contributed financially to the Union, were entitled to our air, and the oxygen in it, free of charge; but now that the UK is a third country,and doesn’t contribute, we’ve decided, as part of our overall green policy, to impose a tax for our air and its oxygen, on visitors coming from Britain,” said a Spanish Government spokesperson.

The new tax is just another hurdle facing Brits coming to the European Union since Brexit. Stricter rules and limits have made what was once a pleasant tourist and retirement destination, a growing nightmare for UK citizens, who find they are now treated like people from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

One British community that may see its prospects improve with Brexit is the criminal fraternity, which had previously taken refuge in Spain without fear of extradition – the famous Costa del Crime – until Spain joined the European Union in the 1980s. With Brexit, the London underworld may well be packing its bags and suntan lotion and heading south once more in significant numbers.