Boris Johnson’s government has summoned the French ambassador over the seizure of a British fishing boat, as the bitter post-Brexit dispute between the countries over fishing licences escalates.
Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton was instructed to demand that the French ambassador Catherine Colonna comes in for talks after Brexit minister Lord David Frost held a crisis meeting of senior cabinet colleagues on Thursday.
France detained a British scallop trawler in waters off its coast and has threatened to hit the UK with more measures next week, with one of Emmanuel Macron’s ministers vowing to “speak the language of strength”.
The UK government denounced the seizure of the British vessel, warned the French against any further retaliation and claimed Mr Macron’s government could be breaking international law.
A UK government spokesperson said: “The proposed French actions are unjustified and do not appear to be compatible on the EU’s part with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) or wider international law.
“We regret the confrontational language that has been consistently used by the French government on this issue, which makes this situation no easier to resolve.”
The spokesperson added: “We have raised our concerns strongly with both the French and the EU Commission. As a next step, the foreign secretary has instructed minister Morton to summon the French ambassador.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the ambassador would be expected to turn up at the Foreign Office on Friday “to explain the disappointing and disproportionate threats made against the UK and Channel Islands”.
French ministers have warned they will block British boats from some French ports and tighten checks on vessels travelling between France and the UK if their licensing demands are not met by 2 November, as well as threatening the electricity supply to the Channel Islands.
Maritime minister Annick Girardin claimed Britain had failed to comply with the TCA deal signed by with the EU last December over the granting of fishing licenses, as she vowed more retaliatory measures from Tuesday. “It’s not war, it’s a fight,” she said.
And Mr Macron’s European affairs minister Clement Beaune told French TV: “So now we need to speak the language of strength since that seems to be the only thing this British government understands.”
However, environment secretary George Eustice has said that French threats to block British boats and tighten checks on supply lines could breach international law.
Mr Eustice said the UK has licensed 98 per cent of EU vessels that have applied for access post-Brexit and more are expected to be granted following “constructive” talks with the European Commission.
The environment minister said the Scottish scallop vessel seized by the French authorities had been granted a licence by the EU, but had subsequently been removed from the list of vessels permitted to fish in French waters for reasons that were unclear.
It comes as Cornelis, the seized trawler owned by Scottish firm Macduff Shellfish, continues to be detained by French officials for allegedly operating in France’s waters without a licence.
Andrew Brown, director of public affairs at Macduff, said the firm’s vessel had been “caught up in the ongoing dispute between the UK and France on the implementation of the Brexit fishing agreement”.
Mr Brown said the crew of the vessel are in “good spirits” and will remain on board the vessel until its release.
“We are looking to the UK government to defend the rights of the UK fishing fleet and ensure that the fishing rights provided under the Brexit fishing agreement are fully respected by the EU,” he added.
In a sign of growing concern in Westminster, Lord Frost chaired a meeting to consider the government’s response. “I remain concerned by French plans on fisheries and beyond. We expect to have more to say on this issue tomorrow,” he tweeted.
Senior ministers are also understood to be holding discussions on Thursday about the possible repercussions of triggering Article 16 – the emergency mechanism in the Northern Ireland Protocol which would suspend trade arrangements.
The issue of “Article 16 readiness” was on the agenda for a meeting of ministers involved in emergency planning, according to Sky News.
Lord Frost was also said to have held meeting with Tory MPs in order to minimise any possible dissent should the prime minister decides to trigger Article 16 in the weeks ahead.
EU Commission officials have been in London this week for talks, but there is still major divide when it comes to Lord Frost’s demand for an end to the European Court of Justice (ECJ)’s role in trade arbitration.
The UK side said it wants to see momentum “soon” to work out whether the gap can be bridged – or if Mr Johnson will need to take the drastic step of triggering Article 16 in his withdrawal deal.
EU officials are reportedly considering terminating the Brexit deal and preparing for a trade war if the UK government does not honour protocol commitments.
