Reynolds refuses to deny report saying EU fishing rights in UK waters extended for 12 years under deal
Nick Robinson puts it to Reynolds that a 12-year fishing deal would be longer than anyone was expecting. The fishing industry, which believes the EU’s current access rights to UK waters are already too generous and wants them cut back, are bound to object.
Reynolds won’t confirm the 12-year figure. But he says there is a good case for moving away from having annual negotiations over fishing (which was supposed to be the process from 2026, under the original post-Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson) to having a system with more “consistency”.
Key events
Reporters were asking Keir Starmer “Have you sold out the fish?” as he arrived at Lancaster House. ITV News has the clip.
All the key figures have now arrived at Lancaster House for the UK-EU summit.
As Eleni Courea and Lisa O’Carroll revealed in a Guardian story at the weekend, the deal will involve an agreement for UK passport holders to use e-gates across Europe – allowing British holidaymakers to get through airports more quickly.
In a post on social media, Joe Barnes from the Telegraph has a picture of what the text of the agreement says about this.
Steve Baker, the former minister and leading Tory Brexiter, says that, because there is no current legal ban on Britons using e-gates at EU airports (as paragraph 16 quoted above says), this does not amount to a “win” for Labour in the negotiations.
Ed Davey welcomes deal and urges Starmer to ignore ‘naysayers and dinosaurs’ in Reform UK and Tory party
The Liberal Democrats have welcomed news of the deal with the EU as a “positive step”. In a statement, Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said:
These seem to be some positive first steps in rebuilding our relationship with Europe after years of a Conservative party that wrecked trust and broke our relationship with our closest allies.
The prime minister must ignore the naysayers and dinosaurs in Reform and the Conservative party and be more ambitious in getting the best deal in the national interest.
Lisa O’Carroll
Lisa O’Carroll is a Guardian correspondent covering Brexit and trade.
It is understood the fishing deal will run for 12 years until 2038 with concessions for fishing industries such as processing that don’t have direct access to the seas.
This would mean fish processing can take place anywhere including in UK communities that ended up setting up complex and costly veterinary certification to comply with Brexit export health and safety rules
Tory claims about EU deal being ‘surrender’ are ‘nonsense’, says Conservative peer and supermarket boss Stuart Rose
Stuart Rose, the Asda chair and former Marks & Spencer boss who sits in the Lords as a Conservative party chair, has said that it is “nonsense” for his party to describe the today’s deal with the EU as “surrender”. (See 9.12am.)
In an interview with Times Radio, asked if agreed with the “surrender” claim made by the Tories, Rose replied:
No, it’s nonsense. I really am quite disappointed and sad that I live in a country – you know, I am a Conservative, although I am not a politically active Conservative, I’m not a politician. But to hear that the Conservatives are saying we must be rule givers and not rule takers. It’s about giving a bit, taking a bit, and understanding this is a very difficult, unpleasant world we live in.
And we’ve got to make sure that for the UK public and for the UK, we do our best. That’s what we elect our politicians to do. That’s what I expect them to do. And talking about small things like surrender is pathetic.
Rose, who was a leading anti-Brexit campaigner in 2016 (unlike those leading the Conservative party now), described the deal as a “win” for Britain.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, told business leaders in Downing Street this morning that the deal with the EU would be “about bringing more good jobs to our country, it’s about reducing prices in the shops for consumers, as your costs fall as businesses, and, crucially, it’s about our defence partnership with our allies”.
According to Natasha Clark from LBC, the government is going to announce extra money for the fishing industry.
Gov sources say new £360m extra for coastal fishing
Say the EU tried to tie fishing deal to business agricultural checks, but it’s been confirmed there won’t be a time limit on those
Unclear exactly what checks will be relaxed and how at the moment
Deal could lead to ‘end of fishing industry’, Farage claims
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, has claimed that, if the EU retains access to UK fishing waters for another 12 years, as reported, that will amount to the “end of the fishing industry. He posted this on social media.
If true that will be the end of the fishing industry.
