Fishing row: France delays sanctions as talks over access continue

France will delay retaliatory measures against the UK while talks over post-Brexit fishing rights continue, Emmanuel Macron has said.

Paris had threatened to block British fishing boats from its ports from midnight in a row over the licensing of French fishing boats.

But the French president told reporters the sanctions would be put off as talks between officials continue.

The UK had threatened to "retaliate accordingly" if France went ahead.

The row flared up last month, after the UK and Jersey denied permits to dozens of French boats to operate in waters near their coastline.

France had threatened to take a series of measures against the UK unless more licences were granted by midnight on Monday.

Representatives from the EU Commission, France, the UK and the Channel Islands began talks earlier, seeking to diffuse the row.

French media quoted Mr Macron telling reporters at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow these would now continue on Tuesday.

"It's not while we're negotiating that we're going to impose sanctions," he was quoted as saying.

"We'll see where we are tomorrow [Tuesday] at the end of the day, to see if things have really changed," he added.

Speaking earlier, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss accused France of "unfairly" setting a deadline for issuing more fishing permits.

She rejected a French accusation that the UK had breached the Brexit trade deal over the way it had issued licences.

And she had warned the UK would be prepared to take legal action under the deal, unless France withdrew its threats.