'It's the end!' Nigel Farage delivers damning verdict as Keir Starmer 'sells out' Britain's fishermen

Richard Tice slams Starmer's 'surrender' to the EU
GB News
George Bunn

By George Bunn


Published: 19/05/2025

- 09:44

Updated: 19/05/2025

- 11:03

The Reform UK leader also swiped at the Prime Minister for being a 'north London lawyer'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has slammed Sir Keir Starmer's expected deal with Brussels as European trawlermen look set to plunder Britain's coastal waters until 2038.

Reacting to the announcement of the deal, Farage, the Clacton MP, said: "If true that will be the end of the fishing industry."


Farage told GB News the deal was "an abject surrender - the end of the fishing industry", later blasting the Prime Minister as a "north London lawyer".

Speaking to The Telegraph, Farage asked: "Why would a north London lawyer care?"

Nigel Farage delivers damning verdict as Keir Starmer 'sells out' Britain's fishermen

Nigel Farage delivers damning verdict as Keir Starmer 'sells out' Britain's fishermen

GETTY

It comes as British fishermen brace for European trawlermen to be given access to British waters for 12 years to secure his Brexit "reset" deal.

British and European negotiators reportedly reached a "fish for food" deal granting EU fishermen fishing rights until 2038 in return for a veterinary agreement to boost trade.

Meanwhile, the Tories have also set out a series of "red lines" on fishing rights, including ensuring exclusive access to Britain’s territorial sea and resisting "a multi-year agreement which only benefits France."

The Liberal Democrats have called for a new UK-EU customs union, with Sir Ed Davey urging the Prime Minister to "ignore the dinosaurs fighting old battles."

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Nigel Farage holds a fish as he visits a fish processing factory in Grimsby Fishing village as part of a media event during the Brexit Party general election campaign tour on November 14, 2019Nigel Farage holds a fish as he visits a fish processing factory in Grimsby GETTY
British fishing boat

Fishing has caused snags between the EU and UK

PA

Speaking to business leaders in Downing Street, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the deal was "about bringing more good jobs to our country.

"It’s about reducing prices in the shops for consumers, as your costs fall as businesses, and, crucially, it’s about our defence partnership with our allies," she said.

Conservative peer and former M&S chair Lord Rose said the Government’s deal with the EU was a "win" and should not be described as a surrender.

Downing Street sources claimed there was an extra £360million for coastal fishing and that the EU tried to tie fishing deal to business agricultural checks in the overnight negotiations.

Reynolds insisted on GB News that Britain’s fishers will ultimately gain from the controversial agreement.

He told The People's Channel: "It’s not just about what you gain in terms of fishing in the UK, it’s who you sell that product to.

"A lot of the stuff, particularly shellfish, particularly salmon, we have major markets for in the European Union. You’ve got to think about not just what you’re catching, but who you’re selling it to and how easy it is to do that."