Latest news with #fishingdeal
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
Suspend EU fishing deal until France stops Channel migrant crossings, Starmer told
Sir Keir Starmer is under pressure to suspend Britain's fishing deal with the EU until France stops migrant Channel crossings. On Monday, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, will challenge the Government in the Commons to halt the controversial fishing deal until France makes good on its pledge to intervene and stop small boats at sea. France has committed to changing its laws so that police officers can stop the boats in shallow waters. They have previously refused to do so and instead shepherded migrants to the middle of the Channel, where they have been rescued by Border Force and RNLI boats. But France has so far failed to deliver on its promise despite the UK putting up £480 million over three years to fund extra officers and surveillance equipment on the beaches to stop migrants. On Saturday, French officers were seen standing on the beach taking pictures as a record 1,194 migrants set off and crossed the Channel to be rescued and brought ashore by British vessels. France stopped just 184 migrants from leaving on Saturday – less than 15 per cent of the total 1,378 who attempted the crossing. Local media reported that two gendarmes were injured while trying to stop a migrant boat from setting sail from Audinghen, near the Trou du Nez. 'The two gendarmes were stoned by the migrants,' said Marc Sarpaux, the town's mayor. The 1,194 people who landed on British shores on Saturday brought the total so far this year to 14,811 – the highest ever recorded in the first five months of a year and up 42 per cent on this time last year. So far this year, France has intercepted just 38 per cent of migrants – down from 45 per cent last year, 46.9 per cent in 2023 and 42.4 per cent in 2022. 'Time for Government to get serious' Mr Philp told The Telegraph: 'The French are completely failing to stop these illegal immigrants, despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds from the UK taxpayer to do so. They are also failing to intercept any boats at sea and return them as the Belgians do. It's time for the Government here to get serious about this. 'The 12-year fishing deal the UK Government recently proposed with the EU, which is itself outrageous, should be immediately suspended until the French actually stop all these illegal immigrants, including using interceptions at sea. And if they won't, the fishing deal should be cancelled. 'I'll be putting this to Yvette Cooper [the Home Secretary] in Parliament on Monday. This Government is so weak they surrendered our fishing rights to the French for 12 years while at the same time the French stand by and watch tens of thousands of illegal immigrants flood into the UK. It's time for this madness to end.' Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said the French were 'taking Britain for fools'. He has previously proposed drafting in the marines to pick up migrants and return them to the French beaches. He told The Telegraph: 'Since 2015 we have pledged and given the best part of £800 million to the French. Yesterday, their officers watched like tourists as over 1,000 young men made the illegal crossing to England. 'We are being taken for fools. We paid them to stop the boats. They only make a half-hearted effort to do so.' 'UK pushing France to deliver on its pledge' On Sunday, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, said the UK was 'pushing' France to deliver on its pledge to start intercepting the small boats at sea, as he admitted that Britain had 'lost control of its borders'. Speaking on Sky News, he called Saturday's scenes 'pretty shocking' and blamed France for allowing smugglers to scoop up migrants like a 'taxi' service. 'I think yesterday tells us a really big problem, which is, you've got French police unable to intervene and intercept the boats when they're in shallow waters,' he said. 'That means we saw it. We saw the smugglers launching elsewhere and coming around like a taxi to pick them up. 'Truth is, Britain's lost control of its borders over the last five years, and the last government last year left an asylum system in chaos and record levels of immigration.' Mr Healey said France had agreed to change the rules so police could intercept boats in the water as well as on shore, but had not yet put that into effect. 'They're not doing it, but for the first time for years, we've got the level of co-operation needed,' he said. 'We've got the agreement that they will change the way they work, and our concentration now is to push them to get that into operation so they can intercept these smugglers and stop these people in the boats, not just on the shore.' Videos on TikTok showed migrants packed onto small dinghies smiling while making the dangerous crossing. The crossings come less than three weeks after the Prime Minister published the Government's plans to reduce net migration and toughen the requirements for migrants to work, live and study in the UK. They also come ahead of a critical by-election in Scotland on Thursday, at which Reform UK is seeking to repeat its success from the local elections in England.
The Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
In charts: What does the new Brexit deal mean for fishing?
Critics have branded Keir Starmer's fishing deal with the EU 'a horror show' for the industry after he granted European trawler fleets 12 years of access to UK waters. The roll over of the existing fisheries deal to 2038 will benefit the British fishing industry, the prime minister has claimed, by allowing the sale of fish caught in UK waters to be sold in the EU without veterinary checks, removing a costly post-Brexit barrier. Sir Keir has also unveiled a £360m fund to support fishing communities and modernise the British fishing fleet. He told reporters on Monday: "It's time to look forward. To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.' But he faces another argument with the Scottish government after failing to consult them before signing his deal, which impacts Scottish fisheries. The Scottish Fishermen 's Federation (SFF) branded the UK-EU deal a "horror show" for the sector, while Scottish constitution secretary Angus Robertson blasted the UK for agreeing a fisheries deal in principle "without any recourse, involvement or approval of devolved administrations". However, government sources have briefed that UK hands were tied because the Windsor Framework Agreement struck last year by Rishi Sunak meant the UK would have to negotiate fishing rights at the same time as access to the energy market. The core elements remain unchanged from the Conservatives' post-Brexit fisheries deal, first implemented in 2020, and continues to allow EU fishermen access to UK waters. However, Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch claimed that the fishing agreement was three times longer than the government wanted. But Richard Kilpatrick, head of campaigns at thinktank European Movement UK, said the certainty provided by the longer timeframe will benefit the industry. 'This will open a serious food deal with the EU, which is of huge benefit to all of us - including the fishing industry,' he told the Independent. 'Even if it is not quite what they wanted, [the fisheries deal] gives the industry certainty, which can guide their investment decisions - much clearer than returning to it every few years." 'Betrayal' over fisheries The EU is still Britain's top market for fish but since Brexit, the UK's seafood exports have dropped by 26 per cent to just 336,000 tonnes in 2023 compared to 454,000 in 2019. Both British and European fishermen working in UK waters are subject to quotas, meaning that they have an allocated limit of fish they can catch, called a 'catch share'. In the first post-Brexit fishing deal, agreed in 2020, the government wanted European fishermen to give up 80 per cent of their catch in British waters. In the end, however, the EU gave up just 25 per cent of its catch share. This meant that the UK's catch share increased by just under 10 per cent, according to think tank UK in a Changing Europe. Sir Keir announced that the UK has struck a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS) with the EU, a boon for British food exporters who have suffered since Brexit. The deal will 'make food and agricultural trade with the EU cheaper and easier', Sir Keir said, allowing exporters to sell 'great British burgers, shellfish, and other products' into the EU market. The SPS deal will also benefit UK consumers, by making it easier to stock EU food products and fresh produce in supermarkets. food rotting at the border and lack of fresh produce on UK shelves.
The Independent
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
What does the new Brexit deal mean for fishing?
Critics have branded Keir Starmer's fishing deal with the EU 'a horror show' for the industry after he granted European trawler fleets 12 years of access to UK waters. The roll over of the existing fisheries deal to 2038 will benefit the British fishing industry, the prime minister has claimed, by allowing the sale of fish caught in UK waters to be sold in the EU without veterinary checks, removing a costly post-Brexit barrier. Sir Keir has also unveiled a £360m fund to support fishing communities and modernise the British fishing fleet. He told reporters: "It's time to look forward. To move on from the stale old debates and political fights to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.' But he faces another argument with the Scottish government after failing to consult them before signing his deal, which impacts Scottish fisheries. The Scottish Fishermen 's Federation (SFF) branded the UK-EU deal a "horror show" for the sector, while Scottish constitution secretary Angus Robertson blasted the UK for agreeing a fisheries deal in principle "without any recourse, involvement or approval of devolved administrations". However, government sources have briefed that UK hands were tied because the Windsor Framework Agreement struck last year by Rishi Sunak meant the UK would have to negotiate fishing rights at the same time as access to the energy market. The core elements remain unchanged from the Conservatives' post-Brexit fisheries deal, first implemented in 2020, and continues to allow EU fishermen access to UK waters. However, Tory Party leader Kemi Badenoch claimed that the fishing agreement was three times longer than the government wanted. But Richard Kilpatrick, head of campaigns at thinktank European Movement UK, said the certainty provided by the longer timeframe will benefit the industry. 'This will open a serious food deal with the EU, which is of huge benefit to all of us - including the fishing industry,' he told the Independent. 'Even if it is not quite what they wanted, [the fisheries deal] gives the industry certainty, which can guide their investment decisions - much clearer than returning to it every few years." 'Betrayal' over fisheries The EU is still Britain's top market for fish but since Brexit, the UK's seafood exports have dropped by 26 per cent to just 336,000 tonnes in 2023 compared to 454,000 in 2019. Both British and European fishermen working in UK waters are subject to quotas, meaning that they have an allocated limit of fish they can catch, called a 'catch share'. In the first post-Brexit fishing deal, agreed in 2020, the government wanted European fishermen to give up 80 per cent of their catch in British waters. In the end, however, the EU gave up just 25 per cent of its catch share. This meant that the UK's catch share increased by just under 10 per cent, according to think tank UK in a Changing Europe. Sir Keir announced that the UK has struck a new Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement (SPS) with the EU, a boon for British food exporters who have suffered since Brexit. The deal will 'make food and agricultural trade with the EU cheaper and easier', Sir Keir said, allowing exporters to sell 'great British burgers, shellfish, and other products' into the EU market. The SPS deal will also benefit UK consumers, by making it easier to stock EU food products and fresh produce in supermarkets. food rotting at the border and lack of fresh produce on UK shelves.
