Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing fierce criticism over reports he plans to give the European Union greater access to UK fishing waters, as the Labour leader has been accused of being put "over a barrel" by the French.
The controversial move would reportedly be made in exchange for British defence firms gaining access to EU weapons contracts.
According to The Sun, the "likely direction of travel" is that Britain will agree to a deal on fish in return for UK defence firms getting access to EU weapons contracts.
An insider told the newspaper that if the choice is between a small industry like fishing and a big industry like defence, the Government "should pick the big industry".
Kevin Schofield criticised Keir Starmer for throwing in the UK's fishing rights in an EU defence deal
GB News / PA
Discussing the deal, Political Editor at HuffPost UK Kevin Schofield told GB News: "It certainly looks as if that is the way it's heading, betraying UK fishermen, in terms of Keir Starmer accepting this proposal from the French."
Schofield suggested the Prime Minister has made his choice between industries.
"It looks as though Keir Starmer, faced with that choice, whether it's the fishing industry or the defence industry, has sided with the defence industry," he said.
Schofield explained that this issue "has been bubbling around for a few weeks" with ongoing talks about a defence pact between the EU and UK.
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The Prime Minister is poised to sign away Britain's waters to the EU in exchange for a defence dealPAThe negotiations have reportedly hit a roadblock due to French demands. "We know that there has been talks about a defence pact between the EU and the UK that's been held up by the French basically saying, well, hang on a minute, we want to throw fish into the mix here," Schofield said.
Schofield questioned why fishing quotas were being linked to defence cooperation: "Why are we being sidetracked into a discussion about fish quotas, when surely the defence of Europe from potential Russian aggression is a much more serious matter?" he asked.
He argued the two issues should remain separate.
"Why do we have to lump this debate about fish in with the defence debate? Surely they are two separate issues," Schofield said.
Schofield told GB News that the EU has 'Starmer over a barrel'
GB News
Schofield recalled promises made to fishermen during the 2019 general election: "I remember, going all the way back to the 2019 general election, fishermen in the north east of Scotland said they were going to vote Conservative because they had been told vote Tory, get fish," he said.
Schofield concluded that France has successfully managed to leverage fishing rights in broader geopolitical negotiations.
"The French have successfully managed to shoehorn the issue of fishing into this much bigger geopolitical issue of the defence of Europe," he said.
"[They] appear to have Keir Starmer over a barrel," Schofield added.
