Boris Johnson’s government is summoning 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 summon the French ambassador in for talks on Thursday after Brexit minister Lord David Frost held a crisis meeting of senior ministers.
France detained a British scallop trawler in waters off its coast and has threatened the UK with more measures, with one of Emmanuel Macron’s ministers vowing that they would “speak the language of strength”.
The UK government denounced the seizure of a British boat and warned Paris against any further retaliation following Lord Frost’s emergency meeting.
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 also 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 the licensing issue is not resolved by Tuesday, as well as threatening the electricity supply to the Channel Islands.
But French 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 2 November. “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 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”.
“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.”