Navy ship back at base after monitoring Jersey fish row

A Royal Navy fishing patrol ship has returned to base after being scrambled to Jersey in response to the protest by French fishermen.

HMS Severn and its sister ship HMS Tamar were deployed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as 60 fishing vessels sailed to the port of St

Helier in an escalation of the row over the European Union’s fishing rights in British waters.

Although the demonstration was halted by Thursday and the fishing boats returned to France, the French navy also sent two of its ships to monitor events.

Local fishermen on Jersey had welcomed the deployment of the two British ships to monitor the situation.

Josh Dearing, who owns seafood company the Jersey Catch, said: "We were so exposed, such a small island, and having those two boats out there, although they kept their distance, must have had some sort of presence to stop anything from getting out of hand."

The UK Government has said it will now work with France and Jersey to resolve the dispute before it escalates further.

Jersey's head of government, Chief Minister John Le Fondre, said the "very good discussion" with representatives from the protesters had highlighted many issues that could be "very easily resolved".

Last week, French maritime minister Annick Girardin said Paris would cut off electricity to Jersey, which gets 95% of its power supply from France, if the fishing licence dispute was not resolved.

The authorities in Jersey have promised further talks to help resolve the row, but the French government claimed a "British failure" to abide by the terms of the UK-EU trade deal and warned it would "use all the leverage at our disposal" to protect its fishing industry.

The EU also accused Jersey of breaching the deal signed by the UK and Brussels.

HMS Severn, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, sailed into its home base of Portsmouth Naval Base yesterday morning with members of the crew waving to members of the public on the walls of Portsmouth Harbour.

It followed sister ship HMS Tamar, which returned on Friday.