French fishermen threaten to block UK Christmas supplies as families stockpile

French fishermen warned Brits they “will not have so many nice things to eat” unless Prime Minister Boris Johnson backs down in a post-Brexit row over licences

French fisherman have threatened to blockade ports and cut off Christmas supplies to Britain in a major post-Brexit row.

They have warned they could bring operations to a halt in the port of Calais and the Channel Tunnel in a bitter feud over fishing licences following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Brits “will not have so many nice things to eat” unless Prime Minister Boris Johnson backs down, one official said.

It comes following an energy supply crisis, shortages of petrol and signs of shoppers stockpiling frozen turkeys, party snacks and chocolate amid fears supplies of some items could run out or be limited this Christmas.

A number of shops and food industry leaders have warned of gaps and reduced choice for shoppers due to disruption to global shipping and a shortage of lorry drivers and agricultural workers.

The Entertainer has warned that parents will be offered a smaller range of toys due to the crisis.

French fishermen are now threatening to cause further chaos, the Daily Mail reported.

Olivier Lepretre, head of the northern France fisheries committee, said: “If negotiating fails, we will stop all French and European products reaching the UK, and we will stop all British products reaching Europe.

“Unless Boris backs down, the Brits will not have so many nice things to eat this Christmas.

“I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

The Prime Minister has refused to rule out shortages during the upcoming holiday season.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that problems with key goods could continue for months.

French fury was sparked after the Government in London announced last month that it had approved just 12 of the 47 applications it had received from French small boats.

That anger was further stoked in a later announcement by the Jersey Government that of 170 licence applications it had received from French boats, 75 had been rejected.

The cross-Channel tensions over fishing have been long running with earlier rows leading to Navy ships being scrambled to Jersey amid concerns of a blockade of the island.

The UK’s Brexit minister on Tuesday reminded France of the need to be “proportionate” over a fishing wrangle after it threatened to cut off Britain’s imported energy supply.

Lord Frost hit back at the energy warning by arguing it was “unreasonable” to suggest the UK was acting in bad faith when it came to allocating post-Brexit fishing licences to French boats, instead saying London had been “extremely generous” to European Union requests.

The comments come after France’s Europe minister Clement Beaune said it would “take European or national measures to exert pressure on the UK” after Paris became riled by a series of application rejections to fish in British waters.