The UK has rejected French claims of a deal to try to end their fishing dispute, leaving Paris on course to launch restrictive measures against British fishing boats operating in the Channel in just 48 hours.
While France claimed Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson had agreed to work on “practical measures” to resolve the dispute, No 10 insisted that was wrong and it is up to France to back down.
“We stand ready to respond should they proceed to breaking the Brexit agreement,” Mr Johnson’s spokesman told reporters at the G20 summit in Rome, adding the UK’s position had not changed and it was up to the “French to decide if they want to step away from the threats they have made in recent days”.
The measures France has said it will introduce include banning British vessels from some French ports, making fishing extremely difficult.
Brexit minister Lord Frost revealed on Saturday the UK is “actively considering” triggering a legal battle with France over the possible steps – a claim the PM echoed today.
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Mrs Foster also criticised Irish government ministers Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney for their handling of the Brexit process, blaming their “aggressive nationalism” on the growth of Sinn Fein in the Republic.
The current terms effectively kept Northern Ireland in the single market, creating a border down the Irish Sea between Great Britain and the fourth nation of the UK.
“I couldn’t have done any more to alert the Prime Minister to the problems that would arise, but when you are the DUP leader you are blamed regardless,” Ms Foster said, adding: “There is no doubt the implementation of the Protocol was hugely damaging to my time as leader.”
Since leaving politics earlier this year, Mrs Foster has been carving out a career in the media, including as a contributor on GB News, and speaking out against abuse on social media
The UK and EU have brought forward proposals in a bid to resolve the dispute over the Protocol.
DUP leader Arlene Foster
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The president of Cop26, Alok Sharma, stressed on Sunday it would be a “tough ask” to reach the objective of persuading world leaders to sign up to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, reports political correspondent Ashley Cowburn.
Speaking at the G20 summit in Rome, Prince Charles told delegates there was an “urgent need” to explore how to develop “a mechanism to provide sovereign risk guarantees that would help release the vast sums of money to make this public/private partnership a reality”.
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No truce in ‘fish wars’ as No 10 rejects French claims of deal
The UK has rejected French claims of a deal to try to end the “fish wars” between the two countries, leaving Paris on course to launch reprisals in just 48 hours.
France claimed Emmanuel Macron and Boris Johnson had agreed to work on “practical measures” to resolve the dispute – but No 10 insisted that was wrong and it is up to France to back down.
Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick has this developing story:
France ‘ready to implement proportionate measures’ on Tuesday – minister
Over to France now. The country’s secretary of state for European affairs said Paris “stands ready to implement proportionate and reversible measures” from Tuesday after accusing the UK of choosing to breach the terms of the post-Brexit trade deal over its handling of fishing licences.
In a threat of tweets, Clement Beaune insisted France was not merely missing “a few licences, but more than 40 per cent of French detailed requests”.
“After 10 months, when such a significant amount of licences, targeting one country, is missing, it’s not a technical issue, it’s a political choice and a breach of the TCA (Trade and Co-operation Agreement).
“This is why France asks for action at the EU level, within the framework of the TCA, and stands ready to implement proportionate and reversible measures from 2 November, as we have announced repeatedly since last April. These measures are fully in line with the TCA.”
