France has threatened to cut off electricity to the British island of Jersey as it says fishing licences are being given with conditions not agreed to
A fleet of French fishing ships have descended upon the island of Jersey after threatening to blockade it’s main port over a post-Brexit row over fishing rights.
The UK has sent two Royal Navy vessels to Jersey “as a precaution” – HMS Severn and HMS Tamar, which have been seen patrolling the outskirts of Jersey this morning.
A number of French fishing boats have been seen arriving at the harbour of St Helier, with more following, in protest over a lack of access to waters surrounding the Channel island.
This comes after France has threatened to cut off the supply of electricity to Jersey in a fight over post-Brexit fishing rights. Leaders in France have accused the UK of using red tape to limit fishing, in breach of the agreement that had been made with the EU last year.
Downing Street has confirmed that Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke to the chief minister for Jersey, Senator John Le Fondre, on Wednesday evening “about the prospect of a blockade of Saint Helier”, which is the island’s main town.
“The prime minister and chief minister stressed the urgent need for a de-escalation in tensions and for dialogue between Jersey and France on fishing access,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
“The prime minister underlined his unwavering support for Jersey. He said that any blockade would be completely unjustified. As a precautionary measure the UK will be sending two offshore patrol vessels to monitor the situation.
In a statement, Mr Le Fondre and Senator Ian Gorst, the minister for external relations, said that they were expecting a “peaceful demonstration by the French fishermen outside St Helier Harbour” on Thursday morning.
Speaking on Wednesday night, they said: “The responsible Ministers and government officials have met this evening to ensure that the very best plans are in place to ensure Islanders interests are properly protected at all times. We remain confident in our ability to do this.
“We welcome the ongoing support from the Prime Minister and UK Government to achieve a diplomatic solution to this dispute, and we are aware that the UK are sending two offshore patrol vessels as a precautionary measure to monitor the situation in Jersey waters.”
This comes after sales of milk and cream from the UK to the EU are down an extraordinary 96%, with chicken and beef sales down by almost 80%, because of Brexit, new figures have shown.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman has confirmed that HMS Severn, that is described as being able to mount fishing vessels to the ship for inspection, and HMS Tamar, which is one of the Navy’s newest warships, were being deployed to Jersey “to conduct maritime security patrols”.
“This is a strictly precautionary measure and has been agreed with the Jersey Government,” he added.
France had earlier threatened to cut off electricity to the island, accusing Jersey of dragging its feet over granting new licences to French fishing boats.
French fishermen have said that they would blockade the main port of St Helier in order to prevent supplies from being delivered.
