Boris Johnson makes dig at Macron & says he ‘shares my keen interest in protecting the sea’ as Brexit fish row continues

BORIS Johnson made a dig at Emmanuel Macron saying he “shares my keen interest in protecting the sea” as the Brexit fishing row continues.

The PM’s swipe at the French President comes as he said he wouldn’t give up his country’s “share of the cake” to stop a No Deal Brexit – as both sides continued to row over access to UK waters.

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Boris Johnson made his comments during the Climate Ambition Summit[/caption]

The knife edge Brexit trade deal negotiations still ongoing with fisheries one of the three main stumbling blocks remaining.

In a bid to seal a deal, UK chief trade negotiator Lord Frost met with his European Union counterpart Michel Barnier in Brussels and was seen leaving its headquarters in Brussels via an underground car park.

During a speech during the virtual Climate Ambition Summit he’s is co-hosting with Macron Mr Johnson smirked as he made a reference to the French President’s demands.

“Thank you all very much for joining this conference, thank you to secretary general Antonio and to my co-host Emmanuel Macron who I know shares my keen interest in protecting the eco-systems of our seas and oceans,” he said.

Mr Johnson’s comments come Royal Navy warships are reportedly being readied to guard the UK’s fishing waters in the event of a No Deal Brexit.

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Macron has taken a hard line over fishing [/caption]

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One of the four navy ships that could deployed HMS Mersey, leaving Portsmouth[/caption]

Four 80-metre vessels will be tasked with intercepting any EU fishing boats operating within our exclusive economic zone

But even the patrol ships are equipped with machine guns they are not expected to ever have to use them in anger.

Instead they would tackle any vessel feared to be breaking rules within the EEZ – which can extend 200 miles from shore – and then board them.

In the most extreme cases, an EU boat could be seized and then escorted to the nearest UK port, states the report.

Britain and the EU are at loggerheads over fish – and for how long Britain will allow other countries to have access to our waters for after we leave.

Brussels is said to be fighting for at least ten years of access, but Britain is only prepared to put up with a phased approach for a few years at most.

On Friday Macron insisted he wasn’t being unreasonable to demand continued access to Britain’s waters even after we leave – as Boris said today a No Deal was now “very, very likely”.

Sticking to his hardline stance to demand access to fish for years to come, he sniped: “I’m not asking to have my cake and eat it, no. All I want is a cake that’s worth its weight.

“Because I won’t give up my share of it either.”