Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
Scottish fishing chiefs have slammed the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson, describing it as an “extremely disappointing” deal which “falls far short of what the UK government had committed” to the industry.
Giving evidence to Holyrood’s Culture, Tourism, Europe and External Affairs Committee, Elspeth Macdonald, Chief Executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, said Boris Johnson’s claims on a visit to Scotland in January that there would be a 25% increase in overall quota was “misleading” and “for some of these species, we will have less fishing opportunity than we had previously” and will “leave us worse off.”
Asked whether the fishing industry feels “betrayed” by the UK government, she said “we feel very badly let down. We feel that the government made repeated commitments and promises to the industry, and these were not met."
Chief Executive Officer of the Scottish Seafood Association, Jimmy Buchan warned that "we've ended up with the worst of the worst of the worst" and said the UK government's compensation scheme doesn't go far enough.
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| Stewart Stevenson MSP at Peterhead Fish Market in Better Times |
“This was a significant intervention from fishing chiefs, who have every right to be livid about the broken promises, utter incompetence and outright lies coming from the very heart of Boris Johnson's government.
"Since the EU referendum, the Tories have made exaggerated promises that they knew they couldn’t keep, and shown complete contempt towards our vital fishing industry.
“It's clear that the Tory Brexiteers never had any intention of keeping their word to fishermen - they've betrayed a vital part of our economy, and an industry which is crucial to the livelihoods of communities and families across the country.
“For over 40 years, Westminster has treated Scotland’s fishing industry as an irrelevance and a pawn to be traded away, and that doesn’t look likely to change any time soon.
“The Tories simply can’t be trusted when it comes to standing up for our interests. The only way to escape the Tory Brexit disaster, protect Scotland's interests is to become an independent country."
"Since the EU referendum, the Tories have made exaggerated promises that they knew they couldn’t keep, and shown complete contempt towards our vital fishing industry.
“It's clear that the Tory Brexiteers never had any intention of keeping their word to fishermen - they've betrayed a vital part of our economy, and an industry which is crucial to the livelihoods of communities and families across the country.
“For over 40 years, Westminster has treated Scotland’s fishing industry as an irrelevance and a pawn to be traded away, and that doesn’t look likely to change any time soon.
“The Tories simply can’t be trusted when it comes to standing up for our interests. The only way to escape the Tory Brexit disaster, protect Scotland's interests is to become an independent country."
