Brexit: Host grills Nadhim Zahawi over France ‘turning lights off’

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Jersey, a British Crown Dependency off the Normandy coast, gets 95 percent of its electricity from France. French fishing boats claim they have been denied access to UK waters since Brexit by overly complicated bureaucracy.

The British Government has denied the claim and insisted decisions on the waters around Jersey are made by its local administration.

Speaking in the French national assembly Annick Girardin, minister for maritime affairs, claimed to be “revolted” by UK policy towards French fishermen.

She noted the island relies on “the transmission of electricity by underwater cable” from France and suggested this could be used as leverage.

Ms Girardin said she would “regret it if we were to get there” but added “we will do so if we have to”.

Mr Farage, the former Brexit Party leader, hit back on Twitter suggesting this demonstrates why Britain was right to leave the EU.

He commented: “If the French are prepared to behave like this then thank god we left.”

The message was retweeted more than 900 times and received over 4,000 likes.

David Frost, the UK minister responsible for EU relations, will discuss fishing rights with French Europe minister Clement Beaune on Tuesday afternoon.

Last week 41 French vessels fitted with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS), allowing them to be tracked, were given permission to fish off Jersey.

However, Ms Girardin claimed the UK had unilaterally added restrictions which “were not arranged or discussed, and which we were not notified about”.

France argues this breaks the terms of the Brexit trade deal approved by Boris Johnson at the end of last year.

Ms Girardin warned: “It is completely unacceptable.

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“If we accept it in Jersey, it is dangerous for our access everywhere.”

Speaking to The Guardian, Bertrand Sorre, a French parliamentarian from president Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! party, warned “the desire to do battle is palpable”.

He claimed one French fishing ship from Granville was only given permission to fish in Jersey waters for 11 days per year despite previously having “on average 40 days”.

The British Government insists decisions on the waters around Jersey were made by the island’s devolved administration.

A spokesperson said: “We are clear that Jersey is responsible for its own territorial waters.

“The UK government is constitutionally responsible for the international relations of the crown dependencies.

“As such, we have been working closely with the EU and the government of Jersey on fisheries access provisions following the end of the transition period for licensing.”

Under the deal agreed by Mr Johnson, 25 percent of the catch formerly taken by EU fishing boats from British waters will be given to the UK over the next five years.

From 2026 onwards the UK can theoretically exclude EU vessels but this would risk retaliatory tariffs.

Last month furious French fishermen blocked lorries carrying UK fish from the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer with burning barricades.

Ian Gorst, Jersey’s external relations minister, described the French threat as “disproportionate”.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4 he said: “This is not the first threat that the French have made to either Jersey or the United Kingdom since we are into this new deal.

“It would seem disproportionate to cut off electricity for the sake of needing to provide extra details so that we can refine the licences.”

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