British fishermen have warned the whole country will be “furious” if the fishing industry is sacrificed “at the last minute” in Brexit negotiations with the EU. Fishing for Leave spokesman, Alan Hastings, said the industry was “fed up” but would not give up on securing the “colossal prize” available once the UK has fully cut ties with the Brussels bloc. British fishermen have long raged at the European Union’s controversial Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), which imposes strict fishing quotas on EU countries.

Free from the shackles of the CFP, Mr Hastings claimed the UK will have the opportunity for the British fishing industry to potentially “double” in size.

Mr Hastings, who has been an advocate for the UK to cut ties with the EU on October 31 with no deal, has warned “a lot of people will be extremely angry” if the opportunities awaiting the industry from leaving the bloc are “snatched away”.

He told Express.co.uk: “As with the country as a whole, it is fed up, and it is not fed up in a way of giving up, it is fed up as in – bloody well get on with it because we are getting cross.

“It is anger. We have got this huge prize for fishing. And it is becoming a normal independent nation like Norway, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

As with the country as a whole, the fishing industry is fed up

FFL’s Alan Hastings

“Which means catching, basically all the fish in our waters, that potentially doubles the UK fishing industry, we repatriate what is basically ours.

“So we have got this colossal prize, both in terms of good management, and overall a huge increase in resources.

“And, obviously the freedom to make better policy so all fishermen in all communities get a better crack at it – not just a few big companies.”

He added: “You get this tremendous prize that is sitting here, where fishermen are looking towards new boats, reinvestment, taking on more staff, investing in factories, ports.

“There is this huge expectation, this huge opportunity, and to have snatched away, when you are inches from it, that will really push a lot of people over the edge.

“It is bad enough to be kept in a prison, but to have your release date snatched away at five minutes to the hour, that really is something will push a lot of people to be extremely angry.”

Mr Hastings also warned about public anger across Britain if the fishing industry is sacrificed by the Government.

“You can’t speak for everybody, but from the correspondence we get…people get it,” he said.

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“They get it was ours, they get it was sacrificed, and if it’s sacrificed a second time in an even worse manner, because people know what is going on…I think a lot of people in the wider public, not just in fishing, would be really furious”.

It’s currently unclear what future terms would be agreed if Prime Minister Boris Johnson secures a deal with the Brussels bloc.

But, speaking in the House of Commons towards the end of July, during his first speech as Prime Minister, Mr Johnson insisted the UK would soon become an “independent coastal state”.

Following a question about the Common Fisheries Policy, Mr Johnson insisted Britain will “take back our fisheries” after Brexit.

While Environment Secretary, Michael Gove, who is now the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, had said that from 2021 the UK would control fishing access to a 200 nautical mile zone around its coastline.

But, since then, the scheduled Brexit deadline has been pushed back to October 31 – delayed from the original exit date of March 29.

The Government has committed to becoming an independent coastal state at the end of the month, which would allow the UK to decide who can fish in British waters.

The Prime Minister this week wrote to European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to restart negotiations with the bloc, but they were quickly snubbed by the Irish Government.

Finalising his letter, Mr Johnson did however outline his intentions, saying: “I hope that these proposals can now provide the basis for rapid negotiations towards a solution, together with finalisation of the necessary changes to the Political Declaration reflecting the goal of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, so that an Article 50 agreement can be reached, and the UK can leave the EU in an orderly fashion on 31 October. This will allow us to focus on the positive future relationship that I believe is in all of our interests.”

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