UK and France seek solution to Brexit fishing row

The UK and France have agreed to work together in the "next hours and days" to end the ongoing fishing row.

Tensions have risen in the past week over a lack of post-Brexit permits being issued to French fishing boats by the UK.

It led to threats from France that it could block its ports to British vessels in retaliation.

But UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed to work on finding a solution.

The pair held an informal meeting in Rome where leaders of the world's richest economies, the G20, are holding talks.

According to French officials, Mr Johnson and Mr Macron said they would "work to find a solution to the problem".

A statement from the Elysee Palace said the two leaders "agreed to continue talks in the next hours and days regarding fishing licences".

But it also said Mr Macron wanted to "continue the dialogue on the basis of exactingness, seriousness and respect", adding: "The French president told his counterpart about the need to respect commitments taken jointly by the UK and the EU in the Brexit agreement."

Although fishing is a small part of both the British and French economies, it has played a large part politically throughout Brexit.

But this particular row began after a British trawler was seized by France and another fined during checks off Le Havre on Thursday.

Since then, the wider issue of how many licenses the UK grants to France post-Brexit to fish in British waters has come to the fore.

France was angered by a decision from the UK and Jersey last month to deny fishing licences to dozens of French boats and argued this breached the Brexit deal.

It then warned it would block British boats from landing their catches in some French ports next week and tighten checks on UK boats and trucks if the dispute over fishing licences was not resolved by Tuesday.

France has also said it could cut electricity supplies to Jersey, a British Crown dependency, as it previously threatened in May.

Speaking on Saturday, Mr Johnson acknowledged there was "turbulence" in the UK's relationship with France, but insisted the things that united the two countries were more important than their divisions.

However, taking to Twitter, his Brexit minister Lord Frost said on Saturday the government was "actively considering" launching a legal process against France under the Brexit agreement, as a result of the "threats".

He tweeted: "We will continue to talk constructively to try to resolve all the differences between us, and we urge the EU and France to step back from rhetoric and actions that make this more difficult."

On Sunday, France's minister for Europe, Clément Beaune, replied to Lord Frost, saying France had been "negotiating patiently and constructively for 10 months".

He rejected claims there had been technical issues leading to the problems, saying: "It's not a technical issue, it's a political choice and a breach of the [Brexit deal]."

He added: "A friend, ally and responsible partner should stand by its word and comply with legal commitments."