Navy on standby as the UK warns French
NAVY gunboats are on standby to “uphold the law” as tensions escalate in the Channel row with French fishermen, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace warned.
He said the UK won’t “tolerate” any illegal behaviour with threats coming from Paris that fishermen could block British ports or the Channel Tunnel.
“All states have an obligation to uphold the law,” he added. “We wouldn’t tolerate British people breaking the law and we would expect all countries to uphold the law.”
Two Navy vessels, including offshore patrol vessel Severn, kept watch near Jersey in May when French fishermen staged a protest in the island’s main harbour.
The French threat of militant action was a furious response by fishermen and politicians in Paris to the UK decision to grant licences to fish in its territorial waters to only 12 small French boats out of 47 applications. Mr Wallace added: “Fundamentally we will make sure we protect life at sea, no matter whose that is. But we will also make sure that we help our law enforcement colleagues uphold the law without fear or favour.”
The Department for the Environment, said: “The Government has this year issued a large number of licences to EU vessels seeking to fish in our exclusive economic zone (12-200 nautical mile zone) and our territorial sea (6-12 nautical mile zone).”
For the nearer zone, EU vessels must provide evidence of a track record of fishing in those waters.
Based on the evidence available, it has issued licences to the 12 boats. But the UK would “consider any further evidence provided to support the remaining licence applications”.