Britain has granted permission for more French fishing boats to trawl UK waters, amid a post-Brexit row over access rights.
A UK government spokeswoman said 18 additional licences have been issued to replacement vessels which could prove they had previously fished in British territory.
A further seven are under consideration.
Meanwhile Jersey has given permanent licences to an extra five vessels.
Brexit fishing row explained: Why are the UK and France fighting?
The decision was made after Environment Secretary George Eustice spoke with European Commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, on Friday night, following “several weeks of intensive technical discussions on licensing”.
“Throughout this process, the UK’s approach has been evidence-based and in line with our commitments under the Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TCA),” the government spokeswoman said.
“We have licensed vessels where sufficient evidence has been provided that demonstrates that a vessel qualifies for access under the TCA.”
Licences were not issued if the evidence requested was not provided, she added.
A French fishing boat blocking the entrance to the port of Calais in a bid to disrupt goods supply to the UK, in response to the row Pic: AP
It comes as a Brussels-imposed deadline for solving the dispute passed at midnight on Friday without an agreement being announced – as Downing Street said on Thursday that it did not recognise the cut-off.
French officials said on Friday that they were waiting for Britain to approve almost 100 licences for fisherman to work in UK waters – amid threats of legal action and trade restrictions against Britain.
Ministers called for a UK export ban in the bloc as…
Source : skynews
