Being granted the correct paperwork to fish in British waters is a “matter of life and death” for those working in the Channel, French fishermen have said, amid ongoing talks to settle a licences row between Paris and Britain.
Jeremy Lhomel, a fisherman based in the costal town of Boulogne-sur-Mer, told reporters today he and others had sent off the necessary paperwork to prove they have previously fished in UK waters, but never heard anything back. He went after British ministers for acting in “bad faith” as a result.
The UK has promised to hold “intensive” fisheries talks with France, following Emmanuel Macron’s decision not to sanction British vessels starting on Tuesday. In a statement earlier, Boris Johnson’s official spokesman said Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, would be flying to Paris on Thursday to meet with Clement Beaune, France’s European affairs secretary, in a bid to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has confirmed the detained British trawler, which sparked this entire row, has not been released by French authorities and remains in the port of Le Havre, northern France. This is despite environment secretary George Eustice telling Sky News earlier the “vessel has now been released”.
It came as DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson pushed back his threat to collapse power-sharing at Stormont over the party’s opposition to the Northern Ireland protocol, saying he was prepared to give negotiations “a little more time” because they seemed to be progressing.
Warning that “real and decisive progress” in the talks between the UK and Brussels must be made within weeks, he said: “It would be churlish in the face of that progress to now move precipitously in relation to what I have warned about if we don’t get the outcome that we need.”
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