Alan Hastings, who described the issue as an “acid test for Brexit”, has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson not to fall for the bloc’s “hollow threats” in respect of demands to be allowed to “pillage” British waters after the UK quits the bloc. And the founder of the pro-Brexit campaign group warned Mr Johnson the Tories would pay a heavy price at the ballot box if he did so. Member states are piling the pressure on Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, to insist continental trawlers are permitted to continue fishing in the seas around Britain, as well as seeking guarantees on “stable” fishing quota shares when trade talks with Mr Johnson get underway.

However, Mr Hastings said Mr Johnson should reject Brussels’s demands.

He told Express.co.uk: “The EU’s continued egregious demands need to be slapped down hard by the government to stop the EU’s false narrative taking hold.

“The EU is highly dependent on British seafood exports.

“They will be even more so if we stop their fleet pillaging 60 percent of the fish from our waters which represents one-third of the EU fleet’s NE Atlantic catches.”

UK negotiators had enormous amounts of leverage to bring to bear, Mr Hastings reminded Mr Johnson.

He explained: “The EU is also highly dependent on British financial services and the power house that is the City of London.

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The government must show a bit of man plums for onceT

Alan Hastings

“The idea they will spite either is ridiculous and shows how hollow their threats are – the government must show a bit of man plums for once and not cave to the EU’s hollow threats.”

Mr Hastings added: “Fishing is now the acid test of Brexit, and if the Conservatives sell us out a second time instead of exorcising the ghost of Heath they will lose a host of seats.

“Particularly those in Scotland. Lose those and they could lose the Union.

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“A far higher price than anything the EU is offering.”

Mr Hastings also suggested there was widespread ignorance when it came to the importance to the UK economy of the fishing industry, which a House of Commons Research Library briefing published in 2017 said contributed £1.4billion to the UK economy and employed 24,000 people.

He said: “Remainers keep saying fishing and coastal communities are an insignificance that doesn’t matter and should be sold out to protect London.

“If fishing doesn’t matter then why’s the EU desperate to get it?

“It may be 0.8 percent of GDP for catching, but add ancillary industries and it’s more again.

“Automatically ‘Take Back Control’ of all our waters and resources at the end of the transition by not caving to rolling over the current exploitative EU access and quota shares and that will double.

“For rural communities it’s even more important.

“We shouldn’t sacrifice any industry or part of our country.

“We say to weak-kneed europhiles that seem to want to see Brexit Britain punished: ‘How much is your job worth? Does it supply national food security?’”

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