A battle has broken out over the future of Britain’s fishing industry after the Scottish National party was accused of twisting the words of the environment secretary, Andrea Leadsom.

The Conservatives and industry leaders said the SNP had selectively leaked excerpts from a letter from Leadsom to the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation that disclosed that the UK government knew it may have to integrate some parts of EU law on fisheries after Brexit.



In a mark of an increasingly bitter general election campaign in north-east Scotland, the extracts were leaked to the pro-independence National newspaper as Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Tories, campaigned in Peterhead, the UK’s largest fishing port.

Davidson accused Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, of orchestrating “a grubby spin operation” after the SNP leader tweeted the National story and claimed it proved the Tories had been caught out.

Letter from UK government reveals that Tories are planning to sell out Scottish fishing - again. 1/4 https://t.co/qp3meUFXI3 — Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) May 9, 2017

Davidson said: “The SNP’s scaremongering has been exposed for the trash it is. Scotland’s fishing leaders have directly contradicted her to make it clear they are satisfied with the UK government’s approach.

“If Nicola Sturgeon has even a shred of decency, she will retract her absurd claims.”

The Tories are targeting Moray, the seat held by the SNP’s deputy leader, Angus Robertson. The area came closest to voting leave of any part of Scotland, with fisheries workers the most vocal campaigners against EU membership, leading a flotilla on the Thames a week before the referendum last June.

The row highlights significant ambiguities in Sturgeon’s policies on EU membership were Scotland to become independent.

She insists the SNP’s stance is to keep full membership of the EU but refuses to comment on very strong signals that she would only propose membership of the European Economic Area after any vote for independence in order to keep Scotland out of the common fisheries policy (CFP).

Eilidh Whiteford, the SNP candidate defending the neighbouring seat of Banff and Buchan, said the letter proved the UK government was prepared to use the fishing industry as a bargaining chip.

Accusing Davidson of making bogus claims about quitting the CFP, Whiteford cited Leadsom’s comments in the letter that “no decision has yet been made on the extent to which the EU legislation governing the common fisheries policy will be incorporated into domestic law”.

The phrase clearly implies that Leadsom, who was a leading pro-Brexit campaigner, now accepts that EU law could still have a direct if limited bearing on key industries after the UK leaves the EU.

Whiteford said the environment secretary’s “bombshell letter” also stated that the UK government was “committed to ongoing cooperation with other countries over the management of shared stocks and ending discards”.

Whiteford said: “The cat is now out of the bag – while Ruth Davidson is heading to the north-east to pretend the Tories are the fishermen’s friends, her Westminster bosses are plotting a gigantic sellout. The letter couldn’t be clearer – for all their rhetoric, the Tories are planning to incorporate key parts of the CFP into domestic law.”

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation retaliated by releasing the full text of Leadsom’s letter, and said reading the letter “in full makes it clear that the UK government is committed to ensuring we exit the CFP”.

Bertie Armstrong, the SFF’s chief executive, said the minister’s position was identical to the industry’s stance that the UK would quit the CFP, while negotiating the right access deal to UK waters for other EU fishing nations in line with international law.

“We were very surprised to see an interpretation of bits of a private letter appearing in a newspaper,” Armstrong said. “We will leave the politicking to politicians, but the obvious fact is the letter is unequivocally a letter of support for the fishing industry.”

Armstrong said the letter went on to say: “As we leave [the EU], we will look to disapply the key elements of the CFP that are most unpopular and unworkable for the UK as a coastal state, including those on mutual access and EU-level quota setting. It is essential that we take the opportunity to develop a fisheries regime that is better suited to our seas and industries.

“As an independent coastal state outside the EU, the UK would be fully responsible under international law for control of the waters in our exclusive economic zone and for the management of resources within it.”

Armstrong said the industry clearly accepted that other EU nations would continue to fish in UK waters after Brexit, and that any trade deal would need to take account of EU rules and standards for seafood imports.