“That proved not to be the case.”
It added: “It is not that, in the end, you were forced to concede in the face of an intransigent and powerful opponent that has caused such fury across our industry, it is that you have tried to present the agreement as a major success when it is patently clear that it is not.”
Since the deal came into effect on January 1 the Scottish fishing industry have suffered disastrous effects. Exporters have not been able to get their produce to markets in time because of increased red tape and paperwork. Some businesses say they face bankruptcy. The price of some brands of fish has dropped by up to 80%.
David Duguid, Scotland Office minister, was asked on BBC Radio Scotland how long it would take before trade begins to start running smoothly again.
He replied: “Well, how long’s a piece of string? We are working day and night in resolving the issues that we know about and that we can fix directly.”
The SNP has now demanded that Westminster government deliver a multi-billion pound package of Brexit compensation to Scotland. The party’s Shadow Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Deidre Brock MP said:
“This is an utterly devastating verdict on Brexit from Scotland’s fishing industry – the only sector the Tories have ever claimed could benefit from leaving the EU.
“Scotland’s fishing industry is right to be angry about all the Tory lies and broken promises on Brexit, and the devastating reality of Boris Johnson’s deal, which is costing Scotland’s fishing communities millions of pounds in lost revenue, mounting costs, red tape and barriers to trade.
“The Prime Minister must urgently deliver a multi-billion pound package of Brexit compensation for Scotland – to mitigate the damage his Tory deal has done to our economy. This must include major compensation for fishing businesses and communities who have been hit hard.”