Scottish Conservative MPs are due to meet with the Prime Minister to discuss the UK’s agreement to keep EU fishing policies during the Brexit transition period.
The meeting, expected to take place at Downing Street on Tuesday morning, follows an outcry among Scotland’s fishing industry over the deal struck with Brussels.
Fishermen had wanted the UK to regain full control over access to the country’s fishing waters immediately after the country formally leaves the EU in March 2019.
However, the agreement – reached on Monday by Brexit Secretary David Davis and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier – states the UK will be “consulted” on the allocation of fishing quotas and access to waters during the transition period.
The move also angered Scottish Tory MPs, who are expected to use their meeting with Theresa May to press for a guarantee that full control will return to the UK once the implementation period is over.
Speaking on Monday, Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said the transition agreement reached by the UK and EU “falls far short of an acceptable deal” for fishermen.
“We will leave the EU and leave the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy), but hand back sovereignty over our seas a few seconds later,” he said.
“Our fishing communities’ fortunes will still be subject to the whim and largesse of the EU for another two years.”
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “There is no ignoring the fact that this falls short of what they had hoped for in the short-term.
“I am more determined than ever to ensure that this long-term prize for our fishing industry is seized.
“So, I should make it clear today that I will not support a deal as we leave the EU which, over the long-term, fails to deliver that full control over fish stocks and vessel access.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the agreement was “shaping up to be a massive sellout” of Scotland’s fishing industry.