George Eustice has warned France that "two can play at that game", if Paris presses ahead with threats over the fishing licence row.

       The Environment Secretary repeatedly used the phrase during broadcast interviews this morning, after the UK summoned France's ambassador to Downing Street over the escalating situation. Boris Johnson is also expected to meet Emmanuel Macron in Rome, where leaders are gathering for a G20 summit.

       "We think the comments made by France are completely disproportionate, unacceptable," Mr Eustice told Sky News. "The things they are suggesting doing - making difficulty at borders and closing ports - is a clear breach not just of the agreement we have with them but also EU law."

       France is not expected to bring any punitive measures in "until Tuesday probably at the earliest... if they do bring these into place, well, two can play at that game and we reserve the ability to respond in a proportionate way," Mr Eustice added.

       He called on Brussels to act, saying the Commission "has a role to make sure members, including France, abide by rules".

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       George Eustice has been reluctant to set out exactly what he meant by suggesting "two can play at that game" should Paris press ahead with its threats.

       The Environment Secretary told broadcasters that after exhausting "diplomatic" solutions - including summoning the French ambassador - the UK will consider boosting enforcement action, such as boarding vessels.

       But The Telegraph has learned that ministers were presented with a suite of retaliatory options , including restricting access to UK waters further.

       Other measures contained in an “options paper”, drawn up by officials and presented at a Cabinet sub-committee chaired by Lord Frost, the Brexit minister, included stepping up checks on French boats landing in UK ports.

       And the document proposed potential diplomatic moves to ratchet up pressure on Paris, including confronting Emmanuel Macron at this weekend’s G20 meeting in Rome and dispatching the UK ambassador in Paris.

       Government sources did not deny the details but insisted that there was no scheduled meeting with Mr Macron in Italy.

       Read more on that here.

       While most of the rest of the European Union appears happy enough to let the UK get on with Brexit, Anglo-French relations keep plumbing fresh lows, writes Ben Wright.

       On Wednesday, the French authorities detained a British fishing boat off Le Havre as Paris vowed to block British trawlers from its ports in retaliation for the UK’s refusal to grant more access to its coastal waters for French fishermen.

       It’s only one boat. But tensions between London and Paris keep erupting over a host of different issues: fishing – of course – but also migration from Calais, sausage deliveries to Northern Ireland, Covid travel restrictions, vaccine efficacy, power supplies and the sale of nuclear submarines to Australia.

       Officials on both sides of the Channel appear to agree on one thing only: the difficulty of recalling a time in their working lives when the relationship was in a worse state. The entente, such as it is, gets more strained and less cordiale by the day.

       Read more from Ben here.

       Pope Francis has called on political leaders heading to Cop26 to urgently tackle the climate crisis to give "concrete hope to future generations".

       In a special Thought for the Day message for BBC Radio 4's Today programme, the leader of the world's Catholics warned against countries taking an isolationist approach, and called for a "renewed sense of shared responsibility for our world".

       Speaking ahead of the major climate summit, the Pope said the crises being faced "forecast a perfect storm" but also provide opportunities.

       "The political decision makers who will meet at Cop26 in Glasgow are urgently summoned to provide effective responses to the present ecological crisis and in this way to offer concrete hope to future generations.

       "And it is worth repeating that each of us - whoever and wherever we may be - can play our own part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and the degradation of our common home," he added.

       Fishermen should "get back to work" while politicians thrash out the details of the post-Brexit fishing deal, the chairman of the Scallops Industry Consultation Group has said.

       "When fishermen are protesting they are not catching fish and earning a living, and when they're tied up in ports being inspected unnecessarily they're not able to earn a living," Jim Portus told Sky News.

       "Fishermen really ought to just get back to work, look after one another in the marine space, and leave it to the politicians and administrators to get on with the job of making sure these treaties are workable for the future."

       Asked what he would say to the French ambassador, who has been summoned by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, he said: "I would certainly urge the minister to calm down, come to the table and talk about these issues."

       The French authorities are being "extraordinarily over the top", in having detained a British trawler, the chairman of the Scallops Industry Consultation Group has said.

       "France was part of the negotiations for the TCA (Trade and Co-operation Agreement), they knew what the rules were," Jim Portus, told Sky News.

       "The rules can't be changed for France when they are applied to all the nations of the EU.

       "So I think that France are being extraordinarily over the top in their treatment of British fishing vessels in this case and definitely they need to wind things down."

       Mr Portus added that if certain terms of the TCA need to be renegotiated, it is not a job for "hot-heated individuals".

       George Eustice has said the Government is still trying to get to the bottom of exactly why a Scottish fishing vessel was detained by French authorities.

       The Environment Secretary told the BBC the scallop trawler Cornelis Gert Jan was originally on a list of approved vessels but appeared to have been taken off, but was nevertheless entitled to fish in the waters.

       He said: "We're trying to get to the bottom of what happened. It is true that it was on the list originally and it had a licence. We understand that what happened is it may have made some changes to the engine on the vessel, and that meant that the licence had to be renewed.

       "We're trying to get to the bottom, working with Marine Scotland and the MMO and the owners of the vessel, to understand why it dropped off the list," he added. "But this is a minor administrative thing. I think it is entitled to fish in those waters."

       Mr Eustice added that France had decided to "politicise" the process of checking vessels this week.

       Insulate Britain activists have switched up their protest tactics by walking towards oncoming traffic on the M25.

       The group said the decision to stop sitting in the middle of roads to block vehicles had been made following "feedback" that many drivers were frustrated by their actions.

       This morning demonstrators briefly entered the carriageway near Junction 28 and 29 of the motorway, intending to walk down the white lines marking traffic lanes.

       But Essex Police responded quickly to the incident and the activists were removed from the road.

       The new tactics have been deployed for the group's 17th day of action, the last of which saw protesters have ink thrown in their faces by angry motorists.

       There are no plans for Boris Johnson to hold a bilateral meeting with Emmanuel Macron during the G20 summit in Rome, it is understood.

       George Eustice had suggested the pair would hold a meeting during the gathering of world leaders, which formally kicks off tomorrow. The Prime Minister is expected to fly out this afternoon.

       However, a Government source has said there are no plans for Mr Johnson to hold a one-to-one with his counterpart "as it stands".

       Thierry Breton, the French politician who is also the European Commission's internal market commissioner, said Brussels backs Paris on the fishing licences row.

       "I completely understand the position and the exasperation of France. The support of the European Commission is there and it always has been from the start," said Mr Breton.

       Earlier this week the politician described Brexit as a "catastrophe" for the UK - to France Info radio.

       On Thursday, Britain denounced France's seizure of a British boat in French waters and warned Paris against further retaliation, in a rapidly deteriorating row over post-Brexit fishing rights.

       The rising tensions over fishing licences owes much to Emmanuel Macron's pre-election posturing, George Eustice has suggested.

       “There is an election coming up and it may be that is a factor in this," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

       The UK has been issuing licences, the Environment Secretary adds, as he calls on everyone to follow the rules "country by country".

       George Eustice has rejected suggestions that the British economy is now at the mercy of Paris, should France follow through on threats to slow down the flow of goods by imposing additional border checks.

       Challenged about pre-Brexit warnings that the UK could be held hostage whenever the Elysee chose, the Environment Secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I don't accept that.

       "We have got an agreement with the European Union and obviously the EU has a role in making sure France abides both by the law and the terms of the agreement we have got."

       Britain cannot “rollover” and allow the French to ride roughshod over the rules in the fishing row, he added.

       "I am quite happy with living with the consequences of leaving the EU."

       George Eustice has hit back at suggestions that the UK has not honoured its post-Brexit pledges, saying it is "simply not true" that licences have been blocked.

       The Environment Secretary stressed that several hundred licences had been granted, suggesting France may have "out of date figures" showing a lower number. Only vessels which had "no way of demonstrating access" over the last few years did not qualify.

       Asked if the Chancellor was applying pressure to resolve the problem for fear of an economic consequences, Mr Eustice said: "We have got it sorted in that we are issuing licences in accordance with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement... we have issued all of those licences to vessels that are entitled to it in good faith."

       He added: "If France and the EU want to offer data on those vessels that they have been unable to so far, we will consider it."

       A member of Emmanuel Macron's party has said France will make good on its threats over the fishing row, whether it is "fair or not".

       Bruno Bonnell said the row was "chicken and egg situation", adding: "Now the blame is on France.

       "We will break no law for sure," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. "But if we face a situation where there is a blockade [on licences], they will be some retaliation.

       "I don't know if it is fair or not, I just know the whole thing started because the principle of the deal out of Brexit was broken by the British authorities."

       Boris Johnson could raise the fishing row with Emmanual Macron at the G20 in Rome, a minister has confirmed.

       George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, acknowledged suggestions that the forthcoming French elections "might be a factor" in the row over fishing licences.

       "But we have to deal with what we're faced with here, which is France threatening us with actions that are completely disproportionate, are not acceptable, and would be a breach of the agreement that we have with them," he told Sky News. "That's why we're going to be raising that with their ambassador, raising it with the Commission."

       Pre-arranged summits may allow the leaders to address the issue, he added.

       "The Prime Minister may have opportunity to meet Macron [in Rome], and they are gathering at Cop26. We want to defuse this issue but the truth is we haven't done anything wrong."

       George Eustice accused France of "inflammatory language" as he warned that the UK would board more fishing vessels in retaliation against any measures from Paris.

       Asked about the claim by France's Europe minister Clement Beaune that the only language Britain understands is "the language of force", the Environment Secretary told BBC Breakfast: "That is completely inflammatory and is the wrong way to go about things.

       "We will see what they do on Tuesday but we reserve the right to respond in a proportionate way.

       "It's always open to us to increase the enforcement we do on French vessels, to board more of them if that's what they're doing to our vessels, there are other administrative things we can require of vessels."

       He did not rule out the UK blocking French vessels landing their catches in the UK in a tit-for-tat response, saying: "If the French obviously do continue with this then yes we will take a proportionate response to that."

       George Eustice downplayed suggestions that the row could undermine Cop26,, saying he was confident it would be "put to one side" to focus on climate.

       "With international relations you sometimes have differences with but the whole world will want to come together to address the issue of climate change," the Environment Secretary added.

       He said he was "optimistic about agenda but, as is always the way in the final days, you do get nervous about whether you will get agreements over the line.

       "I am optimistic but it is, as the Prime Minister said, touch and go."

       The French ambassador has been summoned to the Foreign Office for a formal rebuke after France detained a British scallop trawler in a dispute over fishing licences.

       Catherine Colonna, France’s top diplomat in London, has been called in today amid a rapidly escalating row with Paris over post-Brexit fishing rights.

       Government sources said they believed it was the first time in decades that a French ambassador had been summoned by Britain, one of the nation’s closest allies.

       It came as the skipper of the Cornelis Gert Jan - a trawler from Scotland - was questioned by police in Le Havre for five hours on Thursday and accused of fishing in French waters without a licence.

       The row between France and the UK over fishing licences is escalating today, as Downing Street summoned French Ambassador to the UK Catherine Colonna. A meeting is expected this afternoon.

       The timing could not be more awkward, with Boris Johnson flying to Rome for a G20 meeting today, and with Cop26 on the horizon.

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