UK stands firm on French fishing row: PM Johnson

GLASGOW – Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday said Britain’s position on a row with France over post-Brexit fishing rights was unchanged, as officials held a second day of talks to resolve the dispute.

Asked whether London had shifted stance in the face of French threats of retaliatory measures, Johnson told reporters: “The answer is no.”

The cross-Channel spat over the number of licences granted to French boats to fish in British waters threatened to distract attention at the UN climate change summit in Glasgow.

But Johnson and French President Emmanuel Macron were all smiles as they met at the two-day world leaders’ conference that kicked off the two-week meeting.

And Johnson was keen to play up cooperation.

“We are working very, very closely with our French friends and partners on the things that matter most to the people of the world, that is tackling climate change, reducing CO2,” he said.

In comparison, the fishing row and Macron’s early departure from the summit were “vanishingly unimportant”, he added.