France seized a British fishing boat in the English Channel as retaliation after a French boat was fined £40,000 for breaking UK maritime rules, it has been claimed. The Lady T, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex, was intercepted by the Pluvier, a French navy ship, on Thursday for fishing for whelks without a licence. It could be confiscated and its owner could be fined £63,000 for “non-authorised fishing in French waters” by a non-EU boat. Olivier Leprêtre, chairman of the regional fishing committee in northern France, suggested on Sunday that the boat had been seized as a tit-for-tat measure after a French skipper was fined in a landmark case last month. In that instance, the skipper and owner of the French-registered vessel Pierre D’Ambre, were fined £40,000 in Newcastle Magistrates Court after being accused of bottom-trawling in a prohibited area of the Offshore Brighton Marine Conservation Zone. Mr Leprêtre told The Times: “Until now the French government has always favoured discussions to repression, as opposed to the British government which always imposes rules that are more and more restrictive, and more and more counterproductive for French fishermen. “There comes a moment when you have to say: Stop.” Meanwhile, a French official told the newspaper the Lady T was “looking for it” after entering exclusive French waters. “One moment it was in French waters, the next moment it was next to them,” they added. The spat comes less than a week after Sir Keir Starmer granted EU fishermen access to British waters for another 12 years in a deal critics believe will damage the industry. Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, accused the French of “shameful double standards” after the Lady T was seized. He told The Telegraph: “This shows shameful double standards. This year alone, the French have failed to stop 13,000 illegal immigrants crossing the channel – taking no action whatsoever at sea and often ushering the illegal immigrants into UK waters. “Yet when a UK fishing vessel is in French waters all of a sudden they are magically able to act. If the French can now intercept boats then they should start stopping the boats with illegal immigrants – as international law obliges them to do. “The Belgians can do it, and the French should too. We’ve all had enough of the French waving illegal immigrants through into UK waters.” Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, said “it’s all one way traffic”. “The French can fish up to our six mile line for 12 more years and we have no force of law over their actions,” he said. France’s Channel maritime prefecture said on Saturday that the British boat was caught by the Pluvier, a naval patrol boat, after being caught in French waters without authorisation. It added: “This operation shows the vigilance of the state’s services when it comes to protecting fishing resources and their determination to ensure respect of the regulations. “It sends a signal to those who would be tempted to come and fish illegally in French waters.” A Government spokesperson said: “A Government spokesperson said: “We are aware that on 22 May a UK registered vessel was detained by the French fisheries authorities. “We are supporting a British national and we are in touch with the local authorities. Our staff stand ready to support British Nationals overseas 24/7. “As the vessel remains subject to an ongoing investigation by French fisheries authorities, we are unable to comment further at this time.”