Boris Johnson accused of ‘betraying UK’ after foreign firms win lucrative fishing licences
BORIS JOHNSON has been accused of “betraying Britain” after foreign companies were picked for six new lucrative fishing licences.
UK bidders for rights to fish waters around the Falkland Islands ripped into the Government after being snubbed.
Of the six contracts, four went to a Norwegian company, one to a New Zealand business and one to a Chilean vessel.
Documents seen by The Sun reveal that Foreign Secretary ordered that one licence was kept for a Chilean-registered boat.
The four-year contracts to fish Chilean seabass or Patagonian toothfish – said to be Prince Charles’ favourite catch – are thought to be valued at more than £75 million.
SG Fisheries – one of the two British companies to miss out – is now weighing a judicial review, claiming the award was flawed on the basis of bias and legality.
Critics said it made a mockery of Brexit champion Boris Johnson’s vow that leaving the EU will allow Britain to take back control of waters closer to home.
SG Fisheries chief Rupert Street stormed: “This absolute betrayal of British fisherman makes clear the hollow promises of government when it comes to control of our own waters.”
He said: “The process of granting these licences explicitly involved consulting the UK FCO who said the licences should go to foreign companies on foreign policy grounds.
“Once again British fishermen have been left behind and had their interests sacrificed for those of foreign competitors.”
The row comes with the government already facing a legal challenge over the incendiary decision to award the £490million contract to make the UK’s new blue passports to a Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto.
The fishing licences begin this May and last for four years.
While the contracts were awarded by the Government of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, they took their ultimate decision after advice from the Foreign Office.
The Foreign Office has told MPs that some of the contracts have gone to vessels with a ‘British flag’.
But SG Fisheries claim this doesn’t mean profits or tax flow back to the UK.
The Norwegian company – Ervik Havfiske – the country’s biggest “longline” company.
Patagonian Toothfish is a species of cod which fetches up to £25 per kilo – more than double the going rate of North Sea cod.
The other company which lost out is the Fortuna Group, which has held a licence for past two years.
James Wallace, from Fortuna Ltd, said Britain had “sold out the Falklands”.
A judge will now decide whether SG Fisheries have legitimate grounds for the case – and whether mistakes were made in the awarding process.
Teslyn Barkman, a member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly, said: “Why does the (South Georgia Fisheries) application process allow a foreign policy ambition to go against an Overseas Territory’s prosperity in this way?
A Foreign Office spokesman last night said the application process was “open to anyone”.
He insisted that three of the licences were awarded to UK registered vessels “chartered” by a UK subsidiary of Norwegian giant Ervik Havfiske.
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