THE Scottish Secretary was accused of “desperately spinning” during an interview on Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal this morning, insisting it is “fantastic” and brushing off concerns from fishermen’s groups.
On BBC’s Good Morning Scotland Alister Jack was invited to discuss the deal before today’s Commons vote. The agreement is expected to pass after receiving support from the Brexiteer ERG group, with Labour set to be whipped to back it too.
After Jack set out why he believes the Tory deal is so strong for Scotland, which voted Remain in 2016, Laura Maxwell challenged him on comments from one of his colleagues.
She said Tory MP for Banff and Buchan David Duguid had argued access to waters shouldn’t be tied to trade agreement, and that this may be a red line issue. But the new agreement does that – it allows EU boats to fish in UK waters for the next five and a half years, and cuts the amount of white fish Scottish fishermen are allowed to catch.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon: Boris Johnson has 'sold out' Scotland's fishing industry
The Scottish Secretary responded: “Well not all white fish fall – I mean cod is going down, funnily enough cod has lost its Marine Stewardship Council accreditation last year and the numbers are of concern. Herring goes up 10%, there’s give and take in there, but the broad picture is that over the next five years our quota will increase by 25% - we start from a baseline of just over 50% remember – and we will also see next year alone an increase of 15% so this is a very good deal and actually I’d add a couple of other things in –“
Before he could, Maxwell interjected to say that fishermen’s groups had already been on the programme this morning with the White Fish Producers Association warning the loss of cod landings will cost them millions and calling the deal an “embarrassment”. They told Jack: “You need to own that."
The Tory minister replied: “Well I do own it because it’s a great deal, it takes us as I say five and a half years to total freedom in our negotiations … We are outside the CFP, there will be negotiations, as I said cod is a specific issue.”
Jack was told of another fishing group – the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation – who also feel let down by the deal. They complained the deal does not restore sovereignty to UK fisheries.
READ MORE: Brexit trade deal will lead to less quota for Scotland's fishing industry
“So none of the fishermen who voted for Brexit seem to have got what they wanted out of this deal, what they were promised by your government,” Maxwell put to the MP.
The Scottish Secretary said it did restore sovereignty – to which the interviewer asked: “So are they wrong?”
He insisted the legal text has been trawled through and it does restore sovereignty, adding: “I would argue many fishermen benefit from this.”
Jack was also challenged on the fact that parts of the trade agreement appear to have been copied and pasted. The document features references to decades-old software including Netscape Communicator and Mozilla Mail, which are described as “modern” services.
Asked how the public can trust there are no other errors in the deal, the minister insisted the UK Government is “fairly confident it’s robust”.
He went on to hit out at the SNP for planning to vote against the deal – but failed to mention that the LibDems, Greens, Plaid Cymru and some senior Labour figures also intend to reject it in the Commons today.
READ MORE: Brexit: SNP say 'Scots can't trust Tories' as they expose Westminster lies
Meanwhile in Holyrood, all parties besides the Scottish Tories intend to vote it down.
Jenny Gilruth, the SNP MSP for Mid Fife and Glenrothes, wrote online during the interview: “Alister Jack desperately spinning on #GMS & conveniently omitting that it won’t just be @theSNP voting against this terrible Tory Brexit - it will be @scotparl uniting against the Tories, yet again, because this deal is bad for the people of Scotland. #ToryBrexitShambles”
The UK Parliament is being recalled today so MPs can debate and vote on the bill. From 9.30am action will kick off in the Commons, and we can expect proceedings to last until about 2.30pm when there will be a vote.
After that there will be a Holyrood debate and vote, while the Lords will see proceedings go from 3pm to about 11pm.
The bill is expected to receive royal assent tonight or tomorrow morning.
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