Michael Gove admits Brexit transition deal 'sub-optimal' for UK fishing industry

Michael Gove has admitted the Government accepted a "sub-optimal outcome" for the UK's fishing industry in negotiations over a Brexit transition period.

The Environment Secretary faced anger from MPs after the Government was accused of a "betrayal" of coastal communities.

It follows the Prime Minister's decision to allow the EU to maintain control of fisheries policy until the end of 2020 - more than 21 months after the UK formally leaves the bloc.

Mr Gove confessed UK negotiators had failed to move their EU counterparts on fishing matters in discussions over a Brexit transition deal, the draft terms of which were revealed on Monday.

Answering an urgent question in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Mr Gove told MPs the Government had initially asked for the UK to be treated as a "third country and equal partner" in annual negotiations over fishing quotas.

"We pressed hard during negotiations to secure this outcome, and we are disappointed that the EU was not willing to move on this," he said.

However, Mr Gove stressed the "hard work" of UK negotiators had resulted in some concessions for the country's fishing industry.

"The revised text clarifies that the UK's share of quotas will not change during the implementation period, and that the UK can attend international negotiations," he said.

A number of Tory MPs have expressed anger at the terms of the draft Brexit transition deal, with Mr Gove insisting he is also dissatisfied.

"The first thing I will happily acknowledge is that there is disappointment in fishing communities," he said.

"As someone whose father was a fish merchant and whose grandparents went to sea to fish, I completely understand how fishing communities feel about the situation at the moment, and I share their disappointment."

The Brexit campaigner also told MPs to focus on the post-Brexit "opportunities" for the UK's fishing fleet.

He said: "The opportunities available to us after the transition deal are critically important. We must secure them.

"That has meant that in the transition deal we have accepted a sub-optimal outcome.

"But it is only for an additional 12 months and we must keep our eyes on the prize."

Earlier, Tory MP Douglas Ross had warned Mr Gove there is no way he can "sell this deal in the transitional period as anything like a success to fishing communities" to constituents in his Moray seat, who he claimed "feel let down and angered by the Government".

Fellow Scottish Conservative MP John Lamont also told Mr Gove he feels "badly let down by this deal, because we are not going to be taking control of our waters as quickly as we had hoped".

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood urged the Government to deem the draft transition deal "unacceptable" and to tell the EU "we voted to take back control of our fish, our money, our borders and our laws".

Mr Gove was also repeatedly attacked by SNP MPs, with the party's Europe spokesman Stephen Gethins accusing the Government of using the UK's fishing fleet as a "bargaining chip", with the industry now left in the "worst of all worlds".

On Wednesday, leading Brexiteers Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage will support a protest against the terms of the transition deal.

Reviving a scene from the 2016 EU referendum campaign, a fishing boat will sail up the River Thames before dumping baskets of fish outside Parliament, in order to highlight how EU policies force fishing vessels to do the same on a daily basis.

The row came as a new BMG Research poll revealed most Britons (63%) believe the EU will come out better than the UK in Brexit negotiations, with the survey showing only 37% think the UK will fare better.

EU leaders will meet later this week to decide whether to back a Brexit transition deal for the UK, with European Council President Donald Tusk warning on Tuesday some countries are still yet to sign up to the plans.

In an invitation to EU leaders ahead of the summit, Mr Tusk wrote: "Yesterday our negotiators reached a solution on parts of the withdrawal agreement.

"Whether all 27 member states can welcome this at the European Council remains open.

"I still need a couple more hours to consult with some of the most concerned member states."