Lord Wood:

I thank the Deputy for his excellent questions. I could pretend to be a fisheries expert but I am not. The Deputy is right that the contribution of fisheries to the gross domestic product is very small. The significance of this is partly the historic relationship between the fishing industry and disputes within the EU but it has also become symbolic of regaining sovereignty for a significant part, not just of the Conservative Party, but in public opinion, and that is really one of the issues here.

On free trade agreement prospects, my personal view is that there probably will be, it will be quite thin and will probably satisfy not many people. I suspect still that a deal is going to be done but at what pace and coverage I am sceptical.

In terms of the first question on whether the EU proceedings against the UK are a factor, I do not think it is a factor in terms of affecting the political process domestically. As a moral challenge and an embarrassment, it is atmospherically a big factor. The timescale on which that would proceed I do not think will have a material bearing in terms of the process affecting the domestic legislative process. Definitely it has a clouding effect for those people who think that we should not be in bad standing with our allies and friends.