"We will control our own fish": John Redwood
(Picture: AFP/Getty Images)A pro-Brexit MP has been criticised and mockingly labeled “Aquaman” after calling for the UK to “control our own fish” after Brexit.
Former Cabinet minister John Redwood made the comments as the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier arrived in London for the latest round of Brexit negotiations.
He tweeted: “Today the UK government must tell Mr Barnier again we will become an independent country making our own laws, controlling our own fish and no longer under the European Court.
"Why can’t the EU keep its word that our future relationship will centre on free trade?”
The comments were subject to some online derision, with MP’s name trending on Twitter.
One user tweeted: “Appreciate John Redwood explaining the point of Brexit: so that we get to finally *checks notes* control fish.”
Another said: “Have you ever tried controlling a fish? Virtually impossible, they're slippery, evasive, demonstrate random behaviour, have very short memories, are slimy and don't articulate very well. A bit like yourself.”
John Redwood controlling our fish. pic.twitter.com/BLoKPOubap
— Cornwall for Europe #FBPE (@Cornwall4EU) November 9, 2020
Paul Bernal, a law professor at the University of East Anglia, tweeted: “‘Controlling our own fish’. John Redwood is Aquaman."
He said the UK’s chief negotiator Lord David Frost and his team were working “very hard” to try to get an agreement.
The latest round of talks was set to begin in London today, with fishing rights and a level playing field agreement the main sticking points. The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier boarded the Eurostar to London yesterday as Boris Johnson said a trade deal is “there to be done”.
— maria (@mariagraziano_) November 9, 2020
John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, also warned President-elect Joe Biden not to meddle with Brexit.
He said that despite Mr Biden having a "clear mandate" in America, there was a "larger percentage mandate" in the UK for the EU referendum result.
He wrote in a letter: "The UK’s EU referendum gave us a larger percentage mandate for exit than your own convincing win, so you will understand the importance to us of becoming a truly independent country again on 1 January next year."
He urged the president-elect to work with the British government to achieve its goals on both sides of the Atlantic and denied there was a Tory plot to undermine the Good Friday Agreement (GFA).
