Fishermen 'feeling shafted' as they are 'sold down the river' by Labour: 'A pawn in a massive game!'

His comments come as Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces mounting criticism over reported plans to offer concessions on fishing quotas to Brussels.

Sir Keir Starmer is reportedly close to securing a major trade agreement with the EU that would allow British firms to bid for contracts within the €150billion EU security fund.

The deal would involve freezing current quotas for European fishermen in British waters, particularly affecting stocks such as haddock, herring, and cod.

Sources cited by The Sun suggest this is the "likely direction of travel" in ongoing negotiations.

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Perkes told GB News: "Listen, we knew that the fishing industry has been used every time as a pawn in a massive game.

"We roll over, they walk all over us, and then they crack on with whatever they want to do. This is just once again being sold down the river.

"We were shafted the day we left Europe. People don’t understand, and I’ve no wish to keep coming on various news programs and discussing my business.

"But, like people say, if you don’t tell them, they’ll never understand. We're a small company here in Devon, and our expenses have gone through the roof for the past five years.

"I've got a cousin for example, who had a lovely fish export business but he had to stop. Two massive companies have gone bankrupt in the Devon-Dorset area in the past two years, purely because of rising costs.

"We're doing exactly the same job. All our fish are 90 per cent export. It has to go through France, whether it’s going to Spain, Holland, Germany, or wherever.

"The French hold the purse strings, they know they can take our fish, which they have and we can’t get it back. So, we lose thousands and thousands of pounds. This is ongoing."

The agreement would enable UK companies to sell billions of pounds worth of weaponry to European allies.

The Scottish Fishermen's Federation has strongly condemned the proposed deal.

Elspeth Macdonald, the federation's chief executive, called it "ludicrous" that the UK government would sacrifice national food security "for the production of bombs and bullets."

"Sir Keir Starmer looks set to become the third Prime Minister to sell out the fishing industry after Edward Heath in 1973 and Boris Johnson in 2020," Macdonald said.

She warned the decision would be "deeply unpopular" across the country, particularly affecting coastal and island communities that depend on fishing for jobs and future prospects.

The federation had previously presented their position to ministers, but Macdonald claims their views have been ignored.