MSP sends fish gift to Brexit minister

BREXIT secretary David Davis received a surprise present over the Christmas period from a Nationalist MSP to remind the minister of the importance of Scotland\’s seafood sector.
The SNP’s Stewart Stevenson, who represents Peterhead, Scotland\’s largest fishing port, dispatched a Cullen skink soup to Whitehall to warn that the movement of fish and seafood products could be caught up in bureaucratic customs checks when Britain leaves the single market and customs union in March next year.
No one wants to see ‘high quality Scottish seafood waiting by the lorry load in queues at Dover for lengthy customs checks’, he said.
The Scottish Tory office described the gesture as ‘a juvenile prank’, but Stevenson\’s fears are shared in other quarters.
Mile Coupe, CEO of Sainsbury\’s, said that food, including fish, could be left rotting at UK borders unless there is a satisfactory customs agreement.
‘The UK sources roughly a third of its food from the European Union and food is by far and away the UK\’s largest export commodity,’ said Coupe.
Two months ago some sectors of the Grimsby seafood industry suggested that the Humber ports should be granted free port status in order to avoid such a situation.
Picture: David Davis