RUTH Davidson's broken pledge that the EU would lose control over the UK's fishing waters on Brexit Day should come as no surprise, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

The Scottish Tory leader and Westminster colleague Michael Gove issued a joint statement earlier this month saying that there would be no transition period for the fishing industry.

However, they were proved completely wrong yesterday when it emerged the transition deal struck between the UK and EU laid down that the Common Fisheries Policy would still apply to the UK after March next year.

The First Minister tweeted: “This is shaping up to be a massive sell-out of the Scottish fishing industry by the Tories. The promises that were made to them during #EUref and since are already being broken – as many of us warned they would be.”

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Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Government’s Rural Economy Secretary, called on Davidson to apologise to the Scottish fishing industry.

He said: “The Tories have sold out the Scottish fishing industry once again and Ruth Davidson should be shame-faced for her fastest broken Brexit promise yet.

“Now we know not only will the UK have to abide by CFP rules during the transition period, it will lose the voting rights it has now. The Tories have delivered the worst possible outcome for Scotland’s fishing industry.”

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) responded angrily, although the organisation appeared to hold out hope that after the transition period it would yet achieve its ambition.

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Chief executive Bertie Armstrong said: “This falls far short of an acceptable deal. We will leave the EU and leave the CFP, but hand back sovereignty over our seas a few seconds later. Our fishing communities’ fortunes will still be subject to the whim and largesse of the EU for another two years.”

Armstrong went on to demand a written guarantee from the UK Government that, following the transition period, it will not allow any EU country access to its waters unless negotiated on a year-to-year basis.

Davidson described the deal as “an undoubted disappointment”, blaming the EU for being “not willing to” shift on fishing access.

“During these negotiations, we wanted to gain control over our waters from as early as the end of next year,” she said. “The EU was not willing to move on this. That we now have to wait until 2020 to assume full control is an undoubted disappointment.

“Having spoken to fishing leaders today, I know they are deeply frustrated with this outcome. There is no ignoring the fact that this falls short of what they had hoped for in the short term. I’ve made clear to them that I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure their interests are protected during the implementation period and beyond.”

Davidson went on to say that over the longer term she would not support a deal that did not see “full control over fish stocks and vessel access”.

“Over the long term, today’s agreement makes clear that, from 2020, the UK will be an independent coastal state, deciding who can access our waters and on what terms. I am more determined than ever to ensure that this long-term prize for our fishing industry is seized,” she said.

Scottish Tory MP John Lamont, who represents the fishing community of Eyemouth, has already said he could vote against the final Brexit deal if it fails to give the UK total and immediate control over fish stocks and access to them.

Fellow Scottish Conservative MP Douglas Ross, who represents Moray, said the UK Government had “delivered far less than I hoped or expected” for fishermen. He added: “There is no spinning this as a good outcome, it would be easier to get someone to drink a pint of cold sick than try to sell this as a success.”

The UK and the EU hope the terms of an agreement on the transitional period can be signed off by the Prime Minister Theresa May and other leaders at the EU summit this week.