Latest news with #OlivierLeprêtre
Telegraph
7 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Owner of British fishing boat seized by French fined €30,000
A British fishing boat seized by French authorities in the English Channel last month was released after officials forced its owner to pay €30,000 (£25,260), it has been revealed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on May 22 for 'non-authorised fishing in French waters'. Four days later, the vessel, which was accused of fishing for whelks without a licence, was allowed to return to Britain following the payment of what sources described at the time as a 'substantial' sum. Pierre-Michel Bon-Gloro, the deputy departmental director of territories and the sea for Pas-de-Calais, has now disclosed that the Lady T was released 'upon payment of a €30,000 deposit' to French maritime authorities. A fishing industry source said: 'The skipper of the Lady T is not at all happy about the French keeping the €30,000 bail. It's effectively a fine by any other word. 'He's set up a GoFundMe page to help him pay it because it's a hell of a lot of money for anyone to have to lose like that.' 'Tit-for-tat spat' Following the seizure of the Lady T, Olivier Leprêtre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested it had been intercepted in a tit-for-tat spat. It came after the skipper and owner of Pierre D'Ambre, a French-registered vessel, were fined £40,000 at Newcastle magistrates' court in April after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone. Mr Leprêtre told The Times: 'Until now the French government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen. 'There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.' Another French official said at the time that the Lady T was 'looking for it' after entering exclusive French waters. 'One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,' they added. 'A very expensive lesson' The Telegraph understands that the Lady T has now returned to sea and is fishing in EU waters under an external waters licence. A source said: 'The skipper is feeling very sore about the entire episode, as you can imagine. He's been fishing in those waters all his life. 'He'd been waiting for his external waters licence when the boat was seized. It's been a very expensive lesson for him.' The seizure came days after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years in a deal critics fear will damage the industry. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, previously accused the French of 'shameful double standards' over the Lady T incident.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Seized British fishing boat released by French
A British fishing boat seized in the Channel by French authorities has been released, The Telegraph understands. The skipper of the Lady T, who appeared in a court in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Monday afternoon, has been ordered to pay a 'substantial fine', sources have claimed. A court source in Boulogne-sur-Mer also confirmed the Lady T had been released. The exact amount has not been disclosed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by a French navy ship on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. Olivier Leprêtre, the chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested on Sunday that the boat had been seized as a tit-for-tat measure after a French skipper was fined in a case last month. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: 'Fantastic news that the French have released this vessel. It should never have been impounded in the first place. 'If the French put half as much effort into stopping illegal immigrants as they did into harassing British fishermen then we would not have floods of illegal immigrants crossing the channel. 'I urge the French to direct their efforts towards stopping the small boats as they are obliged to do under international law.' Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory MP for Chingford and Woodford Green and former party leader, told The Telegraph French authorities had blamed the number of migrants boats leaving for the UK as the reason they were initially unable to seize the British vessel. He said: 'As the French were seizing the British fishing boat, I understand they complained that there were so many migrant boats leaving the French coast for the UK and getting in their way that they had difficulty seizing the British fishing boat.' Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: 'Why can the French catch legal British fishing boats but not illegal migrant dinghies? Do they not love their neighbours?' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Telegraph
Seized British fishing boat released by French
A British fishing boat seized in the Channel by French authorities has been released, The Telegraph understands. The skipper of the Lady T, who appeared in a court in Boulogne-sur-Mer on Monday afternoon, has been ordered to pay a 'substantial fine', sources have claimed. A court source in Boulogne-sur-Mer also confirmed the Lady T had been released. The exact amount has not been disclosed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by a French navy ship on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. Olivier Leprêtre, the chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested on Sunday that the boat had been seized as a tit-for-tat measure after a French skipper was fined in a case last month.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
France seized British fishing boat as ‘payback for UK maritime fine'
France seized a British fishing boat in the English Channel as retaliation after a French boat was fined £40,000 for breaking UK maritime rules, it has been claimed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. It could be confiscated and its owner could be fined £63,000 for 'non-authorised fishing in French waters' by a non-EU boat. Olivier Leprêtre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested on Sunday that the boat had been seized as a tit-for-tat measure after a French skipper was fined in a landmark case last month. In that instance, the skipper and owner of the French-registered vessel Pierre D'Ambre, were fined £40,000 in Newcastle Magistrates Court after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone. Mr Leprêtre told The Times: 'Until now the French government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen. 'There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.' Meanwhile, a French official told the newspaper the Lady T was 'looking for it' after entering exclusive French waters. 'One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,' they added. The spat comes less than a week after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years in a deal critics believe will damage the industry. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused the French of 'shameful double standards' after the Lady T was seized. He told The Telegraph: 'This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the channel – taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters. 'Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants – as international law obliges them to do. 'The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. We've all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters.' Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said 'it's all one way traffic'. 'The French can fish up to our six mile line for 12 more years and we have no force of law over their actions,' he said. France's Channel maritime prefecture said on Saturday that the British boat was caught by the Pluvier, a naval patrol boat, after being caught in French waters without authorisation. It added: 'This operation shows the vigilance of the state's services when it comes to protecting fishing resources and their determination to ensure respect of the regulations. 'It sends a signal to those who would be tempted to come and fish illegally in French waters.' A Government spokesperson said: 'A Government spokesperson said: 'We are aware that on 22 May a UK registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. 'We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7. 'As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
France seized British fishing boat as ‘payback for UK maritime fine'
France seized a British fishing boat in the English Channel as retaliation after a French boat was fined £40,000 for breaking UK maritime rules, it has been claimed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. It could be confiscated and its owner could be fined £63,000 for 'non-authorised fishing in French waters' by a non-EU boat. Olivier Leprêtre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested on Sunday that the boat had been seized as a tit-for-tat measure after a French skipper was fined in a landmark case last month. In that instance, the skipper and owner of the French-registered vessel Pierre D'Ambre, were fined £40,000 in Newcastle Magistrates Court after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone. Mr Leprêtre told The Times: 'Until now the French government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen. 'There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.' Meanwhile, a French official told the newspaper the Lady T was 'looking for it' after entering exclusive French waters. 'One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,' they added. The spat comes less than a week after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years in a deal critics believe will damage the industry. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused the French of 'shameful double standards' after the Lady T was seized. He told The Telegraph: 'This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the channel – taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters. 'Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants – as international law obliges them to do. 'The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. We've all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters.' Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said 'it's all one way traffic'. 'The French can fish up to our six mile line for 12 more years and we have no force of law over their actions,' he said. France's Channel maritime prefecture said on Saturday that the British boat was caught by the Pluvier, a naval patrol boat, after being caught in French waters without authorisation. It added: 'This operation shows the vigilance of the state's services when it comes to protecting fishing resources and their determination to ensure respect of the regulations. 'It sends a signal to those who would be tempted to come and fish illegally in French waters.' A Government spokesperson said: 'A Government spokesperson said: 'We are aware that on 22 May a UK registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. 'We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7. 'As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time.'
