British vessel remains held by French authorities, despite minister’s claim it had been released

Boat remains at Le Havre until court hearing on Wednesday, says owner

The British vessel at the centre of a furious post-Brexit row over fishing rights remains in the hands of the French authorities – despite a UK cabinet minister claiming it had been released.

Environment secretary George Eustice claimed on Tuesday that the scallop vessel Cornelis Gert Jan, seized by French and detained in the port of Le Harve, had been released.

“I understand that vessel has now been released and I think there’s going to need to be some further discussions, clearly there was an administrative error at some point,” he told Sky News.

But the director of the vessel’s owner Macduff Shellfish said it had not been released, and the firm expects the boat to remain in the hands of the French authorities until another court hearing on Wednesday.

Andrew Brown told The Independent: “As far as we are aware the vessel remains held at Le Havre at least until the hearing tomorrow.”

Macduff Shellfish said a hearing on Wednesday would determine the conditions under which the Cornelius Gert Jan would be released.

A prosecuting source in Le Havre said the Scottish vessel was still “subject to legal negotiations” and would have to pay a deposit of just over £125,000 before she could return home.

Despite Mr Eustice’s comments, the government also later confirmed that the vessel remains in Le Havre where it is subject to detention by the French authorities over licensing enforcement matter.

Irish skipper Jondy Ward was arrested along with his seven crew members in off the Normandy coast last Wednesday by the French Maritime Gendarmerie. The boat and crew were escorted to the quayside at Le Havre, where they have been ever since.

Mr Brown said: “The charge of fishing illegally was revoked by the judge at an emergency hearing in Rouen on Friday. But this decision was appealed by the French authorities. A hearing on Wednesday will determine the conditions under which the Cornelius Gert Jan will be released.”

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Mr Eustice suggested that the British vessel had been impounded during the diplomatic storm because of “administrative confusion”.

The environment secretary said the government has welcomed France having “stepped back” from threats to impose punitive action in a dispute over fishing licences, as talks to settle the row continue.

On Monday night, just hours ahead of the deadline set by Paris, president Emmanuel Macron said France would hold off on the action against British boats that he had warned could have been implemented on Tuesday.

Mr Macron said the UK now has until Thursday to license more French vessels to fish in British waters or face consequences. France has threatened to bar British boats from some of its ports and tighten checks on boats and trucks carrying British goods if no solution is found.

Britain says it has granted 98 per cent of applications from EU vessels – a figure that the French authorities have questioned.

Mr Eustice said a meeting between Brexit minister Lord Frost and France’s Europe minister Clement Beaune in Paris on Thursday would be “very important” in trying to resolve the row.

Mr Beaune said a British response to the most recent French proposals is expected by Wednesday, before an “in-depth discussion” with Lord Frost on Thursday.

The French minister added: “In order to allow the dialogue to proceed freely, the measures announced and prepared by France will not be applied before this meeting and before the consideration of Britain’s new responses on fishing licences.”

Bruno Bonnell, a leading French MP from the president Emmanuel Macron’s party, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme Mr Johnson had been “bluffing all along”. He said Johnson has been “continuously pretending that Brexit will have no impact, no effect, on the UK lifestyle”.

Additional reporting by Peter Allen in Paris.