EU gets access to British fishing waters for 12 years under reset deal
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a backlash after he agreed to grant European trawlers access to British fishing waters for a further 12 years under his EU reset deal.
Among the agreements unveiled on Monday was a 12-year extension of fishing arrangements when the current deal ends next year, allowing European vessels to operate in UK waters under the same terms until 2038.
Critics said the length of the agreement made the UK into a 'rule taker' from Brussels, while the Government said the deal provided long-term certainty for fishing fleets.
Sir Keir said the old deal would have meant year-on-year negotiations over fishing access and insisted fisheries would be better off under the deal, pointing particularly to the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) agreement with the bloc.
'We've reached a deal today on fish, protecting our access, rights and fishing areas with no increase in the amount that EU vessels can catch in British waters,' he told a press conference.
'Our fishing industry will also benefit from the new SPS agreement which slashes costs and red tape for our exports into the European market.
'And we already sell 70% of our seafood into that market, so it's really significant.
'It is also opening the gates to sending shellfish back into the EU.'
The Prime Minister said a new £360 million fishing and coastal growth fund that will invest in new technology and equipment to modernise Britain's fishing fleet would help fisheries to 'take advantage of this deal'.
There will be no change to current access to fish for coastal communities and no reduction in the British quota or increase in the quota the EU is allowed to catch.
Scottish First Minister John Swinney said the Government has 'surrendered' fishing in its deal, and that it shows Scotland is an 'afterthought' in decision making.
The Scottish Fishermen's Federation branded the UK-EU deal a 'horror show' for the sector.
The Conservatives criticised the agreement, with party leader Kemi Badenoch saying it made the UK a 'rule taker from Brussels once again'.
Shadow environment secretary Victoria Atkins said: 'The Prime Minister has just sunk the United Kingdom fishing industry.'
Former prime minister Boris Johnson said it was a 'total sell-out' of UK fisheries.
'A large part of Brexit was taking back control of our fantastic coastal waters. From January next year under the deal that we did, we were going to get back control of every single sprat, mackerel in UK water,' he told GB News.
Sir Keir had earlier said it was not the case that when the current deal expired there would have ceased to be EU fishing in UK waters, but rather that a new agreement would need to be made every year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Gianluigi Donnarumma plans talks with PSG bosses 'amid interest from both Man City and Man United'
Gianluigi Donnarumma is planning to sit down with Paris Saint-Germain bosses to discuss his future amid growing uncertainty over his contract situation in the French capital. His current deal runs until June 2026 and PSG are keen to extend it. But there is also no shortage of interest in the 26-year-old from elsewhere. Manchester City 's interest in the Italy No 1 is well known, and the goalkeeper's superb performances in recent months have only strengthened their admiration. Donnarumma helped PSG win a historic treble in 2024–25, which was completed last weekend when they thrashed Inter Milan 5–0 in the Champions League final. He had played a leading role in getting PSG to the final, saving two penalties in a shootout win over Liverpool in the last 16 before making 14 more stops to help eliminate Aston Villa and Arsenal. According to L'Equipe, Manchester United have now joined City in eyeing a deal for Donnarumma, who is said to have discussed the prospect of a move to England with his Italy team-mates in recent days. Speaking while on international duty, Donnarumma told reporters: 'I don't know yet what is going to happen. 'I feel good in Paris. I haven't decided anything. For now, I want to focus on the matches with the national team, and nothing else. 'The situation at the club, I will discuss in the coming days with the management and my staff. For now, it is still too early.' Talks over a new contract began several months ago but have stalled, with PSG's offer reportedly including a reduced base salary and performance-related bonuses — a structure favoured by sporting director Luis Campos in recent negotiations. While Donnarumma has said publicly that he is happy in Paris, L'Equipe report that he has, in private, sometimes lamented a lack of support and recognition from the club — especially during periods of heavy external criticism.
BreakingNews.ie
30 minutes ago
- BreakingNews.ie
Badenoch says organisations should be able to decide if staff can wear burkas
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace. Mrs Badenoch also said people who come to her constituency surgeries must remove their face coverings 'whether it's a burka or a balaclava'. Advertisement Ms Badenoch posted a video on X of part of her interview with the Telegraph, in which she said: 'My view is that people should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear. 'I personally have strong views about face coverings. 'If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it's a burka or a balaclava. 'I'm not talking to people who are not going to show me their face. Advertisement 'Organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear for instance, it shouldn't be something that people should be able to override.' She added that France has a ban and has 'worse problems than we do in this country on integration'. On Wednesday, Reform's newest MP Sarah Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions whether he would support such a ban. Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said his party has 'triggered a national discussion'. Advertisement Asked if he wants to ban burkas, Mr Tice told GB News on Sunday: 'We've triggered a national discussion. I'm very concerned about them (burkas). 'Frankly, I think they are repressive. I think that they make women second-class citizens. 'We're a Christian nation. We have equality between the sexes, and I'm very concerned, and if someone wants to convince me otherwise, well come and talk to me. 'But at the moment, my view is that I think we should follow seven other nations across Europe that have already banned them.' Advertisement He called for a debate on the topic to 'hear where the country's mood is'. Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said 'employers should be allowed to decide whether their employees can be visible or not', when discussing face coverings. Asked on the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme if the Conservative Party's position is not to speak to people who cover their face, Mr Philp said of Mrs Badenoch: 'Well she was talking specifically about her constituency surgery I think, and it is definitely the case that employers should be allowed to decide whether their employees can be visible or not. 'But I don't think this is necessarily the biggest issue facing our country right now. Advertisement 'There's a legitimate debate to have about the burka. 'You've got, obviously, arguments about personal liberty and choice and freedom on one side, and arguments about causing divisions in society and the possibility of coercion on the other. 'That is a debate I think we as a country should be having, but as Kemi said, it's probably not the biggest issue our nation faces today.' Asked if he would talk to people who would not show their face, the Croydon South MP said: 'I have in the past spoken to people obviously wearing a burka – I represent a London constituency – but everybody can make their own choices, that's the point she was making, each employer should be able to make their own choices.'
The Guardian
32 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Campainers urge UK watchdog to limit use of AI after report of Meta's plan to automate checks
Internet safety campaigners have urged the UK's communications watchdog to limit the use of artificial intelligence in crucial risk assessments following a report that Mark Zuckerberg's Meta was planning to automate checks. Ofcom said it was 'considering the concerns' raised by the letter following a report last month that up to 90% of all risk assessments at the owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp would soon be carried out by AI. Social media platforms are required under the UK's Online Safety Act to gauge how harm could take place on their services and how they plan to mitigate those potential harms – with a particular focus on protecting child users and preventing illegal content from appearing. The risk assessment process is viewed as key aspect of the act. In a letter to Ofcom's chief executive, Dame Melanie Dawes, organisations including the Molly Rose Foundation, the NSPCC and the Internet Watch Foundation described the prospect of AI-driven risk assessments as a 'retrograde and highly alarming step'. 'We urge you to publicly assert that risk assessments will not normally be considered as 'suitable and sufficient', the standard required by … the Act, where these have been wholly or predominantly produced through automation.' The letter also urged the watchdog to 'challenge any assumption that platforms can choose to water down their risk assessment processes'. A spokesperson for Ofcom said: 'We've been clear that services should tell us who completed, reviewed and approved their risk assessment. We are considering the concerns raised in this letter and will respond in due course.' Sign up to TechScape A weekly dive in to how technology is shaping our lives after newsletter promotion Meta said the letter deliberately misstated the company's approach on safety and it was committed to high standards and complying with regulations. 'We are not using AI to make decisions about risk,' said a Meta spokesperson. 'Rather, our experts built a tool that helps teams identify when legal and policy requirements apply to specific products. We use technology, overseen by humans, to improve our ability to manage harmful content and our technological advancements have significantly improved safety outcomes.' The Molly Rose Foundation organised the letter after NPR, a US broadcaster, reported last month that updates to Meta's algorithms and new safety features will mostly be approved by an AI system and no longer scrutinised by staffers. According to one former Meta executive, who spoke to NPR anonymously, the change will allow the company to launch app updates and features on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp more quickly but would create 'higher risks' for users, because potential problems are less likely to be prevented before a new product is released to the public. NPR also reported that Meta was considering automating reviews for sensitive areas including youth risk and monitoring the spread of falsehoods.
