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Royal Navy gunboats are on standby to patrol Britain’s fishing waters if Brexit ends in a No Deal.
The Ministry of Defence confirmed four vessels have been readied as part of the end of the transition plan.
The Times reports that Navy officers will be allowed to board foreign boats and arrest fishermen.
Fishing rights have become a totemic, no negotiable red line for Britain.
Access to other EU countries waters will end next year.
The EU has called for the current terms to continue for another 12 months.
But the UK appears to have rejected that compromise.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been urged by fellow Tories to ensure Britain’s waters will be protected.
Shrewsbury and Atcham MP Daniel Kawczynski tweeted:
“In the event of no deal with EU on Sunday we must receive absolute guarantee from Boris Johnson that British naval forces will be deployed from January 1 to prevent illegal French fishing in our waters.”
Brexit talks are set to carry on over the weekend.
Both sides have warned a No Deal is still an outcome.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the two sides had “not yet found the solutions to bridge our differences” on fisheries.
She urged the government to “understand the legitimate expectations of EU fishing fleets built on decades, and sometimes centuries, of access”.
Mr Johnson said he was “hopeful” progress could be made.
“But I’ve got to tell you, that from where I stand now… it is looking very, very likely that we will have to go for a solution that I think would be wonderful for the UK, and we’d be able to do exactly what we want from January.”
