Brexit campaigners were wrong to tell British trawlermen they would be able to “take back control” of the country’s territorial waters after leaving the EU, according to an ally of President Emmanuel Macron. Pierre Karleskind, a member of the European Parliament for the French leader’s La République en Marche party, said there would have to be a degree of horse-trading over fisheries before any post-Brexit deal is signed off by Paris. The influential EU capital will insist on a “reciprocal” access deal that allows EU boats to fish in British waters in return for market access to the Continent.

Mr Karleskind, who represents hundreds of fishermen in Brittany, told Express.co.uk: “It is not possible to say to British fishermen, ‘We are going to take back control of our waters’, if you are a UK politician.

“It’s not as simple as that. Of course, you will take back control for the British fleet today but in a few years it will not be big enough to fish all the fishes in British waters.

“We all know the fish and seafood market is not in the UK, it’s on the Continent and in the EU.

“There are not enough consumers in the United Kingdom and we all know know the UK eats less fish than the rest of the EU.

“If there is no kind of agreement between the right to access UK waters for EU fishermen and access to the seafood market… It won’t work. Each party has something that will interest the other.”

Brexit Party fisheries spokeswoman June Mummery has accused Boris Johnson of selling out UK fisheries before talks have already begun on a free-trade agreement with Brussels.

She said: “Macron knows full well that Boris’ ‘deal’ already allows access for EU vessels to British waters, as it keeps the status quo in place and funnels towards associate membership of the Common Fisheries Policy.”

“While Boris is big on promises, the devil is in the detail and the withdrawal agreement and political Declaration sell fishing down the river, even before talks on an FTA start.

“Time and again, we hear Tories say they will, ‘take back control of our fisheries as independent coastal state’, but nothing is further from the truth. Boris is pulling off a political illusion by insisting we are taking back control, but it’s nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

“When you boil down the detail of the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration, we see clauses that demand the management and regulation of our fisheries must be done in “a non-discriminatory manner”.

“This means that we will not be able to control access to our own waters as we cannot “discriminate” between the individual countries of the EU wanting to access our waters and we must abide by the judgements of the European Court of Justice and continue to allow EU owned vessels to be flagged and operated in British waters.

“Fishermen and coastal communities voted for change. Brexit is their last hope for an industry that is being slowly strangled by regulation and red tape. The sad fact is, many fishing businesses will not survive another 18 months of EU domination of our fisheries, never mind several years.”

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Talks on Britain’s future relationship with the EU will begin after MPs pass Mr Johnson’s newly-minted agreement through the Commons.

Under the terms of the withdrawal deal, Britain will maintain existing ties with the EU without representation in the European Commission, Council or Parliament until the end of December 2020.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator has warned it would not be possible to finish the UK’s entire future trade deal with Brussels in the 11-month period.

The Frenchman, who will also oversee future talks, said negotiations would begin on “the day after” the withdrawal agreement is ratified.

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Suggesting the possibility of a January 2021 cliff edge, he added: “We cannot do everything in 11 months, we will need more time.”

In a boost for Mr Johnson, Mr Barnier said it would be possible to finalise “the principle elements” of a free-trade agreement before the end of 2020.

The withdrawal agreement allows for a one-off extension to the transition period of either one or two years.

But Mr Barnier suggested this scenario was far from inevitable, adding that the UK would have to pay “proportional” contributions to the EU’s budget to remain in the bloc’s single market beyond 2020.

In a wide-ranging interview with a group European newspapers, the Brussels bureaucrat said Brexit talks had taken longer than expected.

He said: “Due to the British political situation we are obliged to be patient.”

European leaders are now keen to end “this negative negotiation of separation and divorce and to open a new page on the future relations”, he added.

“We are preparing for this. We are ready for this.”

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