A British fishing boat named after Margaret Thatcher is in French custody after being accused of operating without a licence in the country’s waters.
The Lady T is being held at the port of Boulogne and faces being confiscated after being seized in the English Channel on Thursday night.
French navy ship the Pluvier caught the vessel, whose skipper may face prosecution for whelk fishing without a licence.
The incident comes days after prime minister Sir Keir Starmer came under fire for his EU fishing rights deal which critics say favours the French.
The British vessel was caught in the French Exclusive Economic Zone, off the Somme Bay, according to France’s Martime Prefecture.
A spokesman said: ‘During this operation, which was part of the State’s maritime enforcement, a British fishing vessel was inspected by sailors from the Navy patrol vessel while fishing without a license in French waters.
‘As the offence was proved, the fishing vessel was diverted during the night of May 23rd to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, following the instructions of the Delegate for the Sea and Coastline, acting on behalf of the Regional Prefect, who oversees the fisheries police, for the purpose of initiating prosecution under the authority of the Public Prosecutor.’
The Lady T was moored behind the Bassin Loubet fish market in Boulogne yesterday.
The skipper, who refused to give his name, said: ‘I have nothing to say to you, I won’t answer.’
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp drew on the example of the thousands of migrants crossing the Channel in small boats to accuse France of double standards.
He claimed Paris was ‘taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters’ but ‘when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act.’
Under a new deal, European trawlers will be granted access to British waters for a further 12 years.
A previous agreement, reached under prime minister Boris Johnson, saw the UK regain 25 per cent of EU fishing quotas, but this was set to run out next year.
Now the EU will maintain unfettered access to the UK’s coastal waters until 2038.
Downing Street has said that the deal ‘protects Britain’s fishing access, fishing rights and fishing areas with no increase in the amount of fish EU vessels can catch in British waters’.
Sir Keir met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa at a summit in Lancaster House, London, to negotiate the deal.
The Foreign Office said it is offering support to a British national in France and is in touch with the local authorities.
A government spokesperson added: ‘As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time.’
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