Brussels increased its demands over fishing rights last night, delaying the expected agreement of a deal with Britain.
Led by France, the European Union had called for a roll-over of the current five-year deal that grants its trawlermen access to UK coastal waters.
But at the last minute the negotiators said the arrangement should last far longer in return for lifting existing post-Brexit checks on lorry loads of food and animal products being exported from Britain to the continent.
One source told the Mail that the EU had suddenly asked for permanent access to British fish as a quid pro quo for Sir Keir Starmer being granted a so-called Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) agreement that would see red tape for exporters lifted indefinitely.
Another insider said Brussels had put an offer of 'a decade of fish' on the table – access to UK waters for ten years – in return for scrapping the lorry checks.
