I’ll protect Scots f ishing waters by blocking EU f leet, vows May
EUROPEAN fishing boats will be banned from British waters unless Brussels agrees a fair deal on access beyond 2020, Theresa May vowed yesterday.
In an extraordinary threat to European leaders, the Prime Minister said the entire EU fleet will be blocked from fishing off our coast unless an acceptable agreement is in place by the time the transition period ends in December 2020.
Her commitment came in a letter to Scottish Tory MPs, responding to their threat to vote against her deal unless their concerns were addressed.
Mrs May promised to fight for Scots fishermen, who want a much fairer deal when Britain leaves the EU than under the current Common Fisheries Policy.
On a visit to Scotland yesterday, Mrs May said her Brexit deal will benefit the economy – and signalled she will not
‘Basis to deliver what the fishermen want’
grant Nicola Sturgeon the power to hold an independence referendum before Britain formally leaves the EU.
The 13 Scots Tory MPs, including Scottish Secretary David Mundell, all signed a letter to the Prime Minister earlier this month urging her to ensure she delivers on promises to fishermen.
In a written response issued yesterday, Mrs May said she had rejected EU demands for access to waters to be linked to access to markets during negotiations on the withdrawal agreement and political declaration.
She said: ‘It remains our resolute position that there should be no such link. If we cannot reach a new and fair agreement by the end of 2020 then the default is that EU vessels would have no access to our waters, so they have a strong incentive to reach one.’
It is understood that Mr Mundell and several colleagues are satisfied with Mrs May’s response, with one source saying it provides ‘the basis to deliver what the fishermen want’. But a few of the 13 MPs still feel they have not received enough reassurance on fishing.
At Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Moray Tory MP Douglas Ross told her many people still had ‘considerable concerns’ and that she has left MPs facing an ‘uncomfortable choice’.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) said it was ‘encouraged’ by Mrs May’s letter and urged all Scottish MPs and MSPs to sign a pledge to vote against any arrangement that prevents the UK ‘negotiating access and quota shares as a fully independent coastal state’ from the end of 2020.
The Scottish Tory MP and MSP groups both backed the declaration but no SNP politicians did so.
Asked during a visit to Scottish Fine Leather in Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire, with Mr Mundell if she would sign the pledge, Mrs May said: ‘I’m delivering on it. I don’t think it is a question of signing a pledge, it is a question of what I have negotiated with the EU.
‘What I have negotiated is that we will be an independent coastal state. That means we will be negotiating and determining access to our waters.
‘This is about enhancing the opportunities for Scottish fishermen in the future. I think that’s why the SFF have been clear this is a deal to support.’
Mrs May said she would not accept any request from Nicola Sturgeon for a second independence referendum, after the First Minister indicated on Tuesday she may do so next year.
She added: ‘Now is not the time to be thinking about this. The UK faces a very important decision, it’s a historic moment for the UK, we entered the EEC as it was as the whole UK, we are leaving the EU as a whole United Kingdom.
‘What we’ve negotiated is a Brexit deal that is good for the UK as a whole, it is good for Scotland, it’s good for employers, it’s good for Scottish fishermen. What we do know is that what would be bad for the Scottish economy would be taking Scotland out of the United Kingdom.’
An SNP spokesman said: ‘The SNP’s position is clear – we will vote against the Tories’ Brexit deal, which sells out fishing at every step.
‘The Brexiteers have consistently over-promised and under-delivered for Scotland’s fishermen – a fact which is now becoming all too clear.’