Brexit: Lord Frost speaks of ‘disappointment’ with EU
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David Jones, Tory MP for Clwyd West, was speaking at the end of a week which has seen France lash out at Britain after Jersey refused grant fishing licences to 75 French fishing vessels to access its waters from 30 October.Paris is also angry after it was revealed the UK had offered just 12 licences to smaller French fishing boats out of 47 applications, with Annick Girardin, France’s Maritime Minister, saying: “On every subject, the British are dragging their feet or failing to live up to their commitments.”
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Brexit has freed Britain from cheap foreign labour, claims Treasury Ms Girardin has suggested retaliation could involve energy supplies, educational exchanges, trade flows and rail links.
However, Mr Jones, who is also the deputy chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) told Express.co.uk Mr Macron needed to tread carefully.
He explained: “It’s very regrettable that France, an important European country, should resort to attempting to bully the small island population of Jersey.
“However, the French should remember what happened the last time they tried that: the Royal Navy was sent in.”
Mr Jones also warned: “They should also not forget that boycotts can operate in both directions.
Boris Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron (Image: GETTY)
Lord Frost did call for Article 16 options to be looked at (Image: Getty) “The UK is an important market for France, but French wine can easily be replaced by the excellent products of Australia, New Zealand and Chile.French Brie and Camembert can be replaced by our own home-produced cheeses.”
As for Mr Macron’s reasons, Mr Jones pointed to next year’s Presidential elections.
He said: “The overall impression is that M.Macron, who has lost face over this episode, is primarily concerned about next year’s presidential elections.That’s the real reason for the current hysteria.”
In other news, EU chiefs have held backdoor talks with key figures in Northern Ireland to break the deadlock over the protocol.
The protocol was agreed by the UK and EU as a way to maintain a free-flowing land border on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
The Protocol has affected supplies of key goods including medicines (Image: Getty) But Unionists in Northern Ireland have been vehemently opposed to the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which sees additional checks on goods arriving into the region from the rest of the UK.
Negotiations are ongoing between both sides in a bid to reach a solution but without little movement.
It emerged this morning however that leading Commission members had “back channel” telephone discussions with people outside of political parties in Northern Ireland.
These people, sources familiar with the talks say, believe can play an influential role in unblocking the current impasse.
One EU insider added to the Irish Independent: “The protocol is here to stay and the unionist parties need to realise that.”
Trending “Many of the concerns they have can be sorted out but unionists need to start looking more toward the Irish government to help them.
“The British government and Boris Johnson have shown they are not interested in helping unionism or addressing their concerns.
“The Commission wants to get the message across to unionists that they want to solve this problem.”
It comes after the leaders of Northern Ireland’s four main unionist parties signed a joint declaration in opposition to the protocol on Tuesday.
The declaration is signed by DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, UUP leader Doug Beattie, TUV leader Jim Allister and PUP leader Billy Hutchinson.
FOR THE LATEST BREXIT NEWS, SEE BELOW:
Northern Ireland Protocol explained (Image: Express Newspapers ) KEY EVENTS Macron’s EU army dream brutally dismantled 22:53 ‘We could trigger Article 16,’ Lewis warns Brussels 19:32 Macron warned over ‘bullying’ Jersey 15:28 Nuclear impasse with France after subs row 14:06 55 mins ago 04:44 David Atkins ‘Michel Barnier wants to break up the UK!’ Farage slams France over Northern Ireland row
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief architect of the Brexit deal, has been accused of “wanting break up the UK” by Nigel Farage.
The GB News host and former Brexit Party leader has claimed Mr Barnier wants to “break” the UK as a “punishment” for voting in favour of Brexit.
Discussing the Northern Ireland protocol with former DUP leader Arlene Forster, Mr Farage claimed Sinn Fein representatives were courted by EU figures in the wake of the 2016 referendum.
He believes the EU had planned all along to back the reunification of Ireland to punish Britain for voting to leave.
Boris Johnson (Image: PA) 3 hours ago 02:21 David Atkins Frost boasts ‘bad dream is OVER’ and brags of Brexit achievements -but EU sent new warning
“The long bad dream of our EU membership is over,” Lord Frost will declare in his speech to Tory members as he celebrates Brexit at the Conservative party conference.
The minister and former Brexit negotiator will hail the UK’s freedom from Brussels as the start of a new era for the country.
Boasting of the achievements already secured, Lord Frost will also look to the opportunities that lie ahead.
However, he will issue the EU with a stark warning to finally get serious about fixing the problems caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Brexit in Express Front Pages (Image: Express) 5 hours ago 00:20 David Atkins Stop moaning! France has more UK fishing licences than rest of EU27 combined – report
France has more licences to fish in UK waters than every other member of the European Union put together, a startling new analysis has indicated, despite President Emmanuel Macron’s comments regarding access to British waters.
The total tonnage of French fishing vessels cleared to operate in UK seas massively exceeds that of all of the Royal Navy ’s fleet of frigates combined, Facts4EU has pointed out.
Meanwhile, report author Leigh Evans has accused Mr Macron of attempting to “bully” Britain – while dismissing French objections as “absurd”.
The pro-Brexit think tank used figures published by the Government’s Marine Management Organisation last week to suggest despite the vehement objections, France did not have quite such a raw deal as has been suggested.
David Atkins takes over live reporting from Ciaran McGrath.
7 hours ago 22:53 Ciaran McGrath Macron’s EU army dream brutally dismantled Emmanuel Macron’s vision of an EU army has been dismissed as “pointless” by UK defence minister Ben Wallace – who suggested the bloc was incapable of making decisions about matters of life and death.
Mr Wallace, speaking on the sidelines of the Tory Party conference in Manchester, was questioned about calls by Mr Macron, among other senior EU figures, for a dedicated EU unit of up to 20,000 troops which could be deployed rapidly across the globe.
EU officials are expected to present a draft plan for a so-called “first entry force” next month.
However, the former British Army officer was deeply sceptical about the practicalities of the idea.
8 hours ago 22:08 Ciaran McGrath Angela Merkel successor won’t have ‘baggage’: ‘It was personal’ The departure of Angela Merkel as German Chancellor mean her successor will not be saddled with her Brexit “baggage”, a political expert has told Express.co.uk.
Germany’s leader is due to step down after the country went to the polls last weekend to vote on her successor.
Mrs Merkel had already announced she would not seek a fifth consecutive term in office.
The man set to replace Mrs Merkel as Chancellor is Olaf Scholz, the leader of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
The politician, who is the country’s current finance minister and vice chancellor, claimed victory in the election to the Bundestag.
10 hours ago 19:32 Ciaran McGrath ‘We could trigger Article 16,’ Lewis warns Brussels Brandon Lewis has said the UK has shown “good faith” in ongoing negotiations over the Northern Ireland Protocol by not triggering Article 16.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said on Sunday that the UK wants to achieve “proper, sustainable” solutions to the row over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
He said: “What we’re saying is that Article 16 conditions have been met.We could trigger it.But we’re showing our good faith in wanting to negotiate proper, sustainable solutions by not actually triggering it.”
Article 16 allows either the UK or the EU to take drastic action to mitigate the impact of the protocol if they believe the conditions have been met – effectively tearing up parts of the deal negotiated by both sides.
Mr Lewis was speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics programme on the opening day of the Tory Party conference in Manchester.
11 hours ago 18:26 Ciaran McGrath Boris could send in NAVY to stop protests by French boats in Channel Britain may send in the Navy once again to “uphold the law” if France blocks British ports and even the Channel Tunnel over the ongoing row over the right to fish in UK waters, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.
Mr Wallace, the Tory MP for Wyre and Preston North, was speaking at the end of a week in which various French officials lashed out at Britain after it was revealed the UK had offered just 12 out of a possible 47 licences to smaller French fishing boats.
In respect of the Channel Island of Jersey, authorities there have refused to grant fishing licences to 75 French fishing vessels to access its waters from October 30.
Annick Girardin, France’s Maritime Minister accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Government of “dragging their feet or failing to live up to their commitments” – warning retaliation could involve energy supplies, educational exchanges, trade flows and rail links.
However, Mr Wallace, a graduate of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and a former Scots Guards captain, was unfazed by France’s belligerent approach.
12 hours ago 18:04 Ciaran McGrath Brexit may have made it easier for Scotland to rejoin EU Brexit could have made it easier for Scotland to rejoin the EU despite fears of opposition from member state Spain.
Senior Fellow at the think tank, UK in a changing Europe, Professor Nicola McEwen reflected on what challenges would occur for an independent Scotland rejoining the EU.
During an interview with Express.co.uk, Professor McEwen said Brexit may have made the process easier for Scotland.She insisted that a Scotland that is no longer part of the United Kingdom would be different from the Spanish and Catalonia situation.
She added, EU member states in support of Scotland joining would make this point if Spain argued against it.
12 hours ago 17:51 Ciaran McGrath EU argument dismantled as Belgium shelves empty and France in crisis Empty supermarket shelves in Belgium and a 40,000 shortfall in HGV drivers in France have proved Brexit is not to blame for Britain’s lorry crisis, advocates of Britain’s decision to quit the bloc have claimed.
Debate about driver shortages in the UK and Europe has prompted much commentary.EU analysts have been quick to point the finger at Brexit, but the problem is present in various nations across the bloc.
Robert Kimbell, chairman of the Time Party UK, drew attention to this.
Alongside a link to a report about the situation across the Channel, he tweeted: “Meanwhile, in France.
“France lacks 40,000 to 50,000 lorry drivers.”
Martin Daubney, deputy leader of the Reclaim Party, also pointed out that Belgium has experienced empty supermarket shelves.
He took aim at Remainers also pointing the finger at Brexit.
Mr Daubney said in a post on Twitter: “The shortages in Belgium aren’t due to Brexit, the same as they aren’t here, but observe the rage!
13 hours ago 16:32 Ciaran McGrath ‘Your loss Joe’: Truss says US trade deal ‘not be-all-and-end-all’ Liz Truss has told Joe Biden if the United States does not sign up for a wide-ranging trade deal with the UK it is not the “be all and end all” – stressing that countries all over the world are queuing up to do business with Britain.
The Foreign Secretary highlighted the Pacific trade bloc, Israel, India – where she will take her next official visit – and the Gulf states as possible targets for trade deals.
Mr Biden’s election as President has pushed back the prospect of a transatlantic trade deal – with Ms Truss refusing to guarantee there would be one in place by the end of the decade.
She told a Conservative Party conference fringe event: “I don’t agree with you that that’s the be all and end all of trade.”
14 hours ago 15:35 Ciaran McGrath Brexit Britain will reap benefits of £9trillion trading bloc, says economist BREXIT Britain will reap “large benefits” of joining the lucrative trans-Pacific trading bloc, a leading economist has claimed.
The UK started the first official round of talks on Tuesday to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, has said Brexit has enabled the UK to tear down trade barriers and strike deals with emerging economies outside the European Union.
Mr Jessop told Express.co.uk: “One of the major benefits of Brexit is the opportunity to lower barriers to trade with faster-growing economies outside the EU.
“This can be done unilaterally, or by signing new deals with individual countries such as Australia, or by joining existing trade agreements like the Asia-Pacific pact.”
14 hours ago 15:28 Ciaran McGrath Macron warned over ‘bullying’ Jersey Emmanuel Macron is stoking tensions with Britain over Jersey fishing access for domestic political reasons, a UK Brexiteer has said – while urging the French President to remember how similar attempts at bullying earlier this year prompted UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to send in the Royal Navy.
David Jones, Tory MP for Clwyd West, was speaking at the end of a week which has seen France lash out at Britain after Jersey refused grant fishing licences to 75 French fishing vessels to access its waters from 30 October.
Paris is also angry after it was revealed the UK had offered just 12 licences to smaller French fishing boats out of 47 applications, with Annick Girardin, France’s Maritime Minister, saying: “On every subject, the British are dragging their feet or failing to live up to their commitments.”
Ms Girardin has suggested retaliation could involve energy supplies, educational exchanges, trade flows and rail links.
However, Mr Jones, who is also the deputy chairman of the European Research Group (ERG) said:
“It’s very regrettable that France, an important European country, should resort to attempting to bully the small island population of Jersey.
“However, the French should remember what happened the last time they tried that: the Royal Navy was sent in.”
16 hours ago 14:06 Ciaran McGrath Nuclear impasse with France after subs row Efforts to persuade France not to use live nuclear missiles in military drills have been delayed in the fallout of the Aukus submarine row, sources have revealed.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had been due to meet French counterpart Florence Parly to discuss “concerns” over the practice.
But it was postponed after the announcement of the Aukus defence alliance between Australia, the UK and the US, which saw Paris lose a £47billion deal to build submarines for Australia.
Unlike Britain, France uses submarines and aircraft for its nuclear deterrent, and regularly runs training “scrambles” in three stages, called Banco, Poker and Excalibur.
17 hours ago 12:09 Richard Percival SNP calls for cross-party talks on Brexit The SNP has called on the Prime Minister to immediately convene cross-party talks and recall Parliament to address the Brexit crisis hitting the UK.Ian Blackford warned that the UK was facing a “perfect Brexit storm” as the UK faces a lack of HGV drivers.
The SNP Westminster leader said: “There can be no dodging the fact that the Tory government’s extreme Brexit deal is piling on the pressure and playing a major role in the ongoing crisis facing the UK.”
19 hours ago 10:28 Richard Percival No end in sight for drivers over fuel chaos Petrol stations are still running out of fuel faster than they can be resupplied, retailers have warned amid long queues in some parts of the country.
The Petrol Retailers Association said 27 per cent of outlets were dry – the same percentage as on Wednesday.
Executive director Gordon Balmer said: “Members are taking further deliveries of fuel but this is running out quicker than usual.”
20 hours ago 09:11 Richard Percival Boris Johnson will ‘not rule out’ changes to UK immigration rules Boris Johnson has said he would keep immigration rules under review, and did not rule out issuing more temporary visas in an effort to help ease a tanker driver shortage which has led to fuel shortages.
Ministers said last week they would issue temporary visas for 5,000 foreign truck drivers and 5,500 poultry workers to try to solve acute labour shortages that have disrupted the supply of fuel to gas stations and caused difficulties in food production.
21 hours ago 08:11 Richard Percival Boris Johnson promises ‘big, bold’ action to rebuild Brexit Britain Boris Johnson has said the Government is ready to take “big, bold decisions” to rebuild the country after the ravages of Covid.
As Conservatives gathered in Manchester for the start of the party’s annual conference, the Prime Minister promised “decisive action” on jobs, crime and health and social care.
“We didn’t go through Covid to go back to how things were before – to the status quo ante.Build back better means we want things to change and improve as we recover,” he said in a statement.
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“That means taking the big, bold decisions on the priorities people care about – like on social care, on supporting jobs, on climate change, tackling crime and levelling up.
“This Conservative Government has a track record of delivering on the people’s priorities: we got Brexit done and secured a deal with the EU – keeping our election promise.”
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