UK may go to court in French fishing dispute
Britain has been given until Tuesday to grant more licences for small French boats to fish in British waters or face sanctions.
Britain is “actively considering” legal action against France as tensions escalate over post-Brexit fishing rights.
Paris is threatening to block British boats from landing their catch at French ports while tightening checks on vessels. The UK has been given until Tuesday to grant more licences for small French boats to fish in British waters or face sanctions.
Licences for small boats are issued only if the vessels can demonstrate a history of fishing in British waters and last week the French authorities detained a Scottish-registered scallop dredger after accusing it of fishing without a licence.
The UK has warned France that if it carries out its threats, then Britain is prepared to start legal proceedings, arguing that Paris will have violated the terms of the trade agreement with Brussels. Brexit Secretary David Frost has also warned the EU that it would be in breach of its obligations under the post-Brexit trade deal.
The vessel, the Cornelis Gert Jan, remained blocked in Le Havre port on Sunday. It was seized by French authorities on Thursday, accused of illegally taking more than two tonnes of great scallops.
A government source said: “We’ve been through painstaking discussions on every single French vessel in question, and have acted at all times in accordance with the deal struck with the EU.
“It’s incredibly disappointing to see France resorting to these threats, which if carried out would not only be entirely disproportionate to the issue, but would put the EU in breach of the trade agreement and arguably international law. “It is not the sort of diplomacy you’d expect from a close neighbour and raises questions around whether all French actions should be judged in the context of their determination to show Brexit as a failure.”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Lord Frost have stepped up their lobbying of the EU to try to encourage bloc leaders to rein in France.
In a meeting with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen at the G20 summit in Rome, Mr Johnson said the threats were “completely unjustified” and did “not appear to be compatible with the UK-EU trade co-operation agreement or wider international law”.
In a series of tweets, Lord Frost hit back at comments made by French Prime Minister Jean Castex in a letter to Ms von der Leyen that the UK should be shown “it causes more damage to leave the EU than to stay in”.
“To see it expressed in this way is clearly very troubling and very problematic in the current context when we are trying to solve many highly sensitive issues, including on the Northern Ireland protocol,” he said.
French legal sources said the seized vessel would be free to go once its owners had paid €150,000 ($230,600) bail. Its captain is due to go on trial next August and if found guilty, faces a €75,000 fine and other penalties.
The Sunday Times
Lies and conspiracy theories seducing our schoolkids
Teachers have told a landmark survey that they feel powerless to combat the spread of misinformation from social media, even when children know it’s untrue.
Island’s ice melting at a cracking pace
Hungry polar bears in Greenland have been known to wander into town from the melting sea ice in search of food – one was shot and turned into polar bear soup.