Michelle Dewberry has launched a scathing attack on Keir Starmer, accusing the Prime Minister of "giving away" Britain's only bargaining chip in negotiations with the European Union.Her comments come in response to a new UK-EU deal that grants European fishing vessels access to British waters for an additional 12 years.READ THE FULL STORY HERE
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00:00Don't allow Starmer to apply logic in a negotiation with the EU.
00:04Absolutely, most people would have turned around and said,
00:06if you want our fishing, close your borders, stop anyone from coming across.
00:09But actually, this study and the case about those coming across
00:13on the backs of lorries hasn't gone away.
00:15I mean, they were still coming across in smaller numbers
00:17during the period of Covid.
00:19I remember the first time I actually saw people getting onto the backs of lorries
00:24was around 2014 when I was out the camps in Calais.
00:28I spoke to lorry drivers who were being fined for finding people
00:33at the back of their lorries just as they were coming up to the French border.
00:38There was a case about that quite recently, actually.
00:39Yeah, and lots of companies were struggling with that.
00:42And I actually did see a camp being completely pulled down
00:46by the special forces of the French police,
00:50and they went in full batons on that,
00:52and people were just running absolutely everywhere.
00:54So the idea that it was just the boats,
00:56it's just that the boats are easier to get to and there's a lot more cost.
00:59What's happening is that as the summer's here
01:02and there's more lorries coming across,
01:04they're feeling that they can get back onto these more easily
01:07because it's cheaper for them.
01:09It's the lowest cost level for a migrant to come over here.
01:13It's only about €1,000.
01:15Yeah, but then you might not get your hotels
01:18and all the rest of it that people have become accustomed to.
01:21No, that's true, but they're the ones that they want to get across
01:24so they're connected to crime.
01:26So lots of those who then can escape that system
01:28are then pulled in into the criminal networks,
01:31the black economy,
01:32and many, many of those might try and claim asylum later,
01:36but they often don't.
01:37They disappeared into the ether.
01:39And that's a dangerous security issue then for us.
01:42So it goes back to once more.
01:45If you want to stop the boats,
01:47you have to do a deal with France to actually stop them coming across.
01:50Yeah, but we're just giving away our power and our leverage.
01:55Honestly, it blows my brain
01:56why people do not seem to either grasp nor care
02:00that surely this is one of the strongest bargaining chips that we have.
02:05You've identified the word.
02:06Well, I don't mean that derogatory
02:08because a lot of fishermen will get in touch and say,
02:10but Michelle, hold on a second,
02:11our livelihoods, everything that we do,
02:14our passion and our way of making money,
02:15all the rest of it, our industry is not a bargaining chip.
02:18And I hear that perspective.
02:20But, I mean, it was literally the only one thing of strength
02:24that we actually had in those negotiations.
02:26We seem to have just bent over and said,
02:28take it from us.
02:29And, by the way,
02:30it will essentially give you a load of money to do so.
02:31It will adhere to all of your rules and regulations.
02:34And so on, the man boggles anyway.