Begoña Gómez submits London flight tickets, accuses Judge Peinado of 'impossible' proof demand over UK digital border system

Background

Begoña Gómez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, appeared before Madrid's Investigating Court No. 41 on Wednesday after Judge Juan Carlos Peinado demanded she prove her authorised trip to the United Kingdom was used solely for her daughter's graduation. The judge had provisionally lifted a travel ban and passport confiscation order imposed on 20 June 2026, when Gómez was indicted on four alleged offences and deemed a flight risk. The exceptional authorisation permitted travel to London between 11 and 14 July for the graduation ceremony, but explicitly denied permission for a separate NATO summit trip to Ankara that had also been requested.

If the prosecution or the investigating body itself harbours doubts about whether the investigated party made proper use of the authorisation granted, it is for them to investigate and prove the facts that may constitute a crime, not for this defence to demonstrate the non-existence of unlawful conduct that no one has proven occurred.

The judge's demand

On Monday, 14 July 2026, Judge Peinado issued a written order noting that Gómez's passport, which she personally returned to the Plaza de Castilla courthouse on Sunday, contained no stamps recording entry to or exit from the United Kingdom. He gave her five days to prove that the passport was used exclusively for the authorised London trip. The judge warned that failure to do so could constitute a breach of the precautionary measure under Article 468.1 of Spain's Criminal Code.

Gómez's response

Her lawyer, former Socialist minister Antonio Camacho, submitted the flight tickets (outbound to London, return from Bristol) alongside a formal appeal. He argued that the United Kingdom has eliminated physical passport stamping under its digital border system, relying instead on automated eGates, biometric passports, and electronic immigration control records. Camacho described the judge's order as a probatio diabolica, a demand for proof that is impossible or disproportionately difficult to satisfy, and contrary to Article 24.2 of the Spanish Constitution and Article 6.2 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The United Kingdom has abolished the stamping of physical seals on passports within the framework of its digital border system, meaning that my client's passport does not and cannot reflect any border movement regardless of whether she travelled to that country or not.

What the defence wants

Camacho's submission requests that Judge Peinado revoke the order entirely and acknowledge that the burden of proof rests with the prosecution. If the judge insists on verification, the defence urges him to use international judicial cooperation channels to request digital entry and exit records directly from the UK Border Force or the British Embassy in Spain. The appeal states that only those authorities hold the electronic registries that could confirm Gómez's movements during the authorised period.

What comes next

Judge Peinado had been on leave during the days when the travel authorisation was granted by a substitute judge, who limited permission to the London-Bristol trip alone and denied the Ankara leg. Peinado is now back and must rule on the appeal. The case continues against the backdrop of a broader investigation that has already seen Gómez sent to trial by jury on four charges, with precautionary measures in place until the trial date.