Lord Glentoran, 70, a Northern Ireland spokesman, was said to have physically assaulted the Guardia Civil officers at the border with Gibraltar.

At one point the burly former athlete, who won a bobsleigh gold medal in the 1964 Winter Olympic Games, is said to have abandoned his wife in an attempt to flee back to Gibraltar. But the police are said to have out-sprinted the Tory politician and grabbed him.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said that he was waiting to hear if he will face charges after the brawl.

The Spanish news agency EFE reported that Lord Glentoran lost his temper and started complaining loudly to the customs officers.

Police were called and tried to calm him down but he allegedly insulted them and began spitting and lashing out. Lord Glentoran and his wife, Margaret, 57, were detained and taken to a court near La Linea, the Spanish border with Gibraltar.

Fearing a diplomatic incident, as talks with Spain about the future of the Rock are making amicable progress, the British Government dispatched the consul in Málaga. He drove 110 miles along the Costa del Sol and set up a midnight meeting with two local lawyers to help the senior Tory politician.

The regional government office in Algeciras told The Times that the couple had been crossing the frontier on foot from Gibraltar at 7.30pm on Tuesday. A spokeswoman said: “They were carrying bottles of whisky and cigarettes which they should have registered on a form at Customs but they did not do so. When a civilian customs officer asked the couple to fill in the form, they became abusive . . . Three officers went to detain them but they started to punch the guards. The Briton then tried to run back across the frontier but he was caught.

“Their behaviour was disgraceful. No one knew he was a politician. The guards and the couple were taken to hospital where the British man was found to have no injuries, the woman had bruised arms but the three guards were far worse off.” One officer had a bruised neck, back, knee and a sprained finger. Another had bruises on one hand and his arm and knee. The third had a sprained hand and bruised knee.

The peer and his wife were freed on bail but ordered to return to court yesterday. The judge at La Linea court said he had not decided what charges to present and let the couple leave on certain conditions. The Foreign Office said a decision from the Spanish authorities on whether to bring charges is not likely for several days.

LORD GLENTORAN

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