Na h-Eileanan an Iar SNP MSP, Alasdair Allan, has condemned the UK Government's “sell out of Scotland's fishing industry”.

The draft terms of the Brexit transition deal show the UK government has agreed to abide by Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) rules for the whole of the transition period, which ends in December 2020.

Alasdair Allan said:

“The Scottish Conservatives’ leader had claimed that ‘Britain will leave the CFP as of March 2019.’ We know now that this was simply conjecture, and today’s events give the lie to her claim that her MPs 'have the ear of government.'

“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.

"It is certain that leaving the European Union will bring about considerable disadvantages, and it is absolutely critical for our islands produce and trade that we remain in the single-market. However, the one possible claimed advantage of Brexit was that our islander fishermen would no longer be restricted by the CFP. The SNP have long held the position that while we believe that Scotland's future is best served within the European Union; the CFP is something which needs fundamentally reformed, or scrapped altogether.

“This transition deal however delivers nothing for our island fishermen. It is shameful that at this stage of negotiations, the Tories have sold out the fishing communities here in the islands, and right across Scotland once again.”