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Brexit hardliner Rees-Mogg: "The point is, we have our fish back"
Photo: PETER NICHOLLS / REUTERS
British fish are reportedly becoming inedible en masse in refrigerated trucks due to heightened Brexit bureaucracy - exports are progressing too slowly.
The Tory politician Jacob Rees-Mogg is apparently not challenged.
He has gone on to make a bold statement about the alleged benefits of Brexit for fish.
“The point is, we've got our fish back.
Now it's British fish and they're better and happier, ”Rees-Mogg said in the House of Commons.
The politician is responsible for parliamentary issues in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's cabinet and is known as a Brexit hardliner.
With his testimony, Rees-Mogg responded to criticism from a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP).
He had accused the government of having caused a disaster for the fishing industry by leaving the EU.
House Speaker Lindsay Hoyle took Rees-Mogg's statement with humor.
"Obviously there is overwhelming evidence of this," said Hoyle.
The dispute over fishing rights in the North Sea had enormous symbolic significance in the lengthy Brexit negotiations - even though fishing is not of great economic importance for either the UK or the EU.
The trade and cooperation agreement between Brussels and London that came into force at the turn of the year finally stipulated that EU fishing boats would have to forego some of their fishing rights in British waters.
Premier Johnson hailed this as a great success and gain in sovereignty.
With Great Britain's exit from the EU internal market and the customs union, however, formalities arise that make trade more difficult.
Scottish fishermen who export a large part of their goods to the EU are particularly hard hit.
In some cases, exports were completely stopped.
Fishermen from southern England had also recently complained about the bureaucracy.
Your fish rot en masse because of this, reported the Evening Standard, among others.
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fek / dpa