Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has pledged to scrap the Brexit fishing deal signed by Sir Keir Starmer and reinstate Britain's traditional 12-mile territorial waters if he wins a future general election. Speaking at a rally in the fishing town of Plymouth, Mr Farage said he would "rip up" the agreement, which currently allows foreign fishermen to operate just six miles off the UK coast.
Branding the deal an "absolute betrayal", Mr Farage told supporters he would restore exclusive British fishing rights. The pledge comes as the Daily Express campaigns for a 12-mile border around the United Kingdom in which only British fishermen can work, as part of its Give Us A Proper Brexit crusade.
Farage's pledge at Plymouth rally
At the rally, Mr Farage said: "One of the sensible beliefs that we had was that we would start to get back control of our territorial waters." He added that the "minimum" the country could have expected following the Brexit vote was to "get back control of our 12-mile line".
The deal, signed as part of plans to reset the UK's relationship with the European Union, permitted foreign fishermen to operate within six miles of the British coast. Mr Farage's proposal would restore the 12-mile exclusive zone.
Campaign context and political backdrop
The Express campaign demands that politicians respect the result of the Brexit vote, in which more than 17 million people voted to Leave, a figure described as the largest democratic mandate in British history. The paper is also calling for the UK to leave the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to enable border control and to scrap EU red tape that it says is throttling businesses.
Ahead of Prime Minister Andy Burnham's planned meeting next month with eurocrats in Brussels, Mr Farage warned: "If they don't like it in Brussels, tough luck!"
Burnham's position under scrutiny
Mr Burnham has already opened the door to a number of Brexit betrayals as he heads to the continent to reopen talks more than 10 years after the vote. He campaigned to Remain in the EU, called for a second referendum when his side lost, and said last year that he wanted the country to rejoin "in my lifetime".
When standing in the Makerfield by-election, a seat which voted 65% to Leave, the ardent Remainer chose to run away when challenged by this paper on his evolving position on the topic. The Government was approached for comment.
