SOMETHING FISHY ABOUT SCOTS MPs RED LINE

SCOTS Tory MPs are threatening to force the UK into a no-deal Brexit in a row over fishing.

Douglas Ross yesterday insisted the 13-strong bloc would vote down a Brexit deal if it includes extending the EU’s controversial common fisheries policy (CFP).

The Moray MP said he could not support any deal that includes staying part of the CFP beyond the current exit date of December 2020. Scottish Secretary David Mundell previously said leaving the CFP in 2020 is “essential”.

Theresa May would lose her slim Commons majority if the 13 Scots Tories voted against her. The MPs are nervous about any extension, because they fear it could alienate fishermen in the north-east of Scotland, who are thought to have been partially behind the party’s recent resurgence north of the Border.

The SNP and Labour questioned why fishing is a red line for the Tory MPs when Brexit is expected to damage a wide range of sectors in Scotland.