May promises to protect fishing fleets after criticism from MPS
THERESA MAY has vowed to “rebuild” Britain’s fishing industry post-brexit after she was savaged by her own MPS for agreeing a transition deal that could put some fishermen out of business.
The Prime Minister said officials at the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) were “looking actively” at how to maintain the fishing industry, as well as to “enhance and rebuild it after we leave”.
The news came after two days of criticism over a proposal that will allow EU trawlers to fish British waters for the 21 month transition period after Britain leaves the European Union in March next year.
Mark Francois, a Conservative backbencher, told Mrs May at Prime Minister’s Questions that Britain should not rejoin the “disastrous” Common Fisheries Policy and called for reassurance that the UK would “absolutely and unequivocally” be taking back control of its waters in 2021.
Anne-marie Trevelyan, Tory MP for Berwick-upon-tweed and a Parliamentary aide at the Ministry of Defence, added that “there is real concern that our EU colleagues might try to take advantage of our losing our voice in the CFP by altering discard or quota rules during the implementation period”.
Earlier, 14 MPS, including senior backbenchers such as Jacob Reesmogg, had written to Mrs May saying: “The European Commission’s Draft Withdrawal Agreement is completely unacceptable and would be rejected by the House of Commons.
“The UK should have complete control of all fishing activity within our Exclusive Economic Zone. Leaving the EU means setting our own fisheries policy from 29 March 2019; the UK must not remain party to the CFP during the proposed implementation period.”
Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, has already set out his “disappointment” with what he said on Tuesday was a “sub-optimal” agreement for British fishermen.
Mrs May replied that the transition period following Brexit day ensures businesses, including fishermen, “don’t face two cliff-edge changes” in the way they operate.
She added: “By definition, because it’s maintaining as far as possible the status quo, so people don’t have to make those extra changes, it is, I recognise, not the same and won’t be the same, as the end state when we’re able to have a future economic partnership, and have that new relationship.
“One of the elements we’ll be looking for is to ensure we do take back control of our waters. It has been agreed that the stability key will not be changed, so the quotas will not be changed. Defra is looking at how we can ensure that we not only maintain our fishing industry, but enhance and rebuild it.”
Earlier Ross Thomson, a Tory MP, boarded a fishing trawler on the River Thames to fight the plans. He was joined by Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, and campaigners from Fishing for Leave who symbolically discarded boxes of haddock beside the Palace of Westminster.