A battle has broken out between Leave and Remain vessels on the Thames.
A flotilla of fishing boats is sailing up the Thames to Parliament to make the case for leaving the EU and for "reclaiming UK waters".
The so-called armada, organised by Fishing for Leave, left the Kent port of Ramsgate early on Friday and expects to reach Westminster during Prime Minister's Questions at 12:30 BST.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage is on board one of the vessels.
Remain crafts backing EU membership have also taken to the water.
There have been reports of brief, light-hearted skirmishes, including the exchange of hose fire.
Nigel Farage EU Leave fishing flotilla sails up Thames
BBC News
15 June 2016
A flotilla of fishing boats is sailing up the Thames to Parliament to make the case for leaving the EU and for "reclaiming UK waters".
The so-called armada, organised by Fishing for Leave, left the Kent port of Ramsgate early on Friday and expects to reach Westminster during Prime Minister's Questions at 12:30 BST.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage is on board one of the vessels.
Remain crafts backing EU membership have also taken to the water.
There have been reports of brief, light-hearted skirmishes, including the exchange of hose fire.
A group of 30 Leave boats set off before first light, stopping at Southend and Gravesend to pick up passengers. They are due to moor at the Pool of London at 11:00 BST, having passed underneath Tower Bridge.
A dozen vessels have been given permission to continue on to Westminster in time for the conclusion of PMQs, the last before the referendum on EU membership on 23 June.
The Remain campaign was also making its presence felt on the river
Mr Farage rejected claims it was a publicity stunt, saying it was a "full-throttled protest" against what he claimed was the "destruction" of the UK's fishing industry by EU membership.
"The governing principle of the common fisheries policy is that of 'equal access to a common resource'", he said. "Fish stock that should be within the UK's internationally recognised territorial waters are now shared with our European partners."
The 30 boats departed from Southend at three in the morning
Leave fishermen say their industry has been "decimated" by the EU
"This has led to a 60% drop in oversized landings and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in our industry.
"There are now many harbours without a single commercial vessel
"Compare and contrast all of this with (non-EU) Norway who control all fishing stocks up to two hundred miles within the North Sea and has a booming commercial and angling tourism industry."
'Protecting stocks'
A handful of dinghies and other vessels bearing In flags sought to "intercept" the flotilla as it passed under Tower Bridge.
Sir Bob Geldof and broadcaster Rachel Johnson, sister of Leave supporting MP Boris Johnson, are among those on a separate In vessel - which has been playing the song "The In Crowd" over loud speakers.
Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy said being in the EU was good for British fishermen as it gave them access to Europe's fishing waters and their boats are able to land and sell their catch in any EU country.
She blamed the Conservative government for failing to ensure more smaller enterprises did not benefit from the UK's catch quota and that reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, not Brexit, was what was needed.
"To protect fish stocks and the livelihoods that depend upon them, we need a European-wide collective approach. We cannot risk a return to the bad old days where fish stocks were declining so fast that there were species on the verge of extinction."
Nigel Farage EU Leave fishing flotilla sails up Thames - BBC News
A flotilla of fishing boats is sailing up the Thames to Parliament to make the case for leaving the EU and for "reclaiming UK waters".
The so-called armada, organised by Fishing for Leave, left the Kent port of Ramsgate early on Friday and expects to reach Westminster during Prime Minister's Questions at 12:30 BST.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage is on board one of the vessels.
Remain crafts backing EU membership have also taken to the water.
There have been reports of brief, light-hearted skirmishes, including the exchange of hose fire.
Nigel Farage EU Leave fishing flotilla sails up Thames
BBC News
15 June 2016
A flotilla of fishing boats is sailing up the Thames to Parliament to make the case for leaving the EU and for "reclaiming UK waters".
The so-called armada, organised by Fishing for Leave, left the Kent port of Ramsgate early on Friday and expects to reach Westminster during Prime Minister's Questions at 12:30 BST.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage is on board one of the vessels.
Remain crafts backing EU membership have also taken to the water.
There have been reports of brief, light-hearted skirmishes, including the exchange of hose fire.
A group of 30 Leave boats set off before first light, stopping at Southend and Gravesend to pick up passengers. They are due to moor at the Pool of London at 11:00 BST, having passed underneath Tower Bridge.
A dozen vessels have been given permission to continue on to Westminster in time for the conclusion of PMQs, the last before the referendum on EU membership on 23 June.
The Remain campaign was also making its presence felt on the river
Mr Farage rejected claims it was a publicity stunt, saying it was a "full-throttled protest" against what he claimed was the "destruction" of the UK's fishing industry by EU membership.
"The governing principle of the common fisheries policy is that of 'equal access to a common resource'", he said. "Fish stock that should be within the UK's internationally recognised territorial waters are now shared with our European partners."
The 30 boats departed from Southend at three in the morning
Leave fishermen say their industry has been "decimated" by the EU
"This has led to a 60% drop in oversized landings and the loss of tens of thousands of jobs in our industry.
"There are now many harbours without a single commercial vessel
"Compare and contrast all of this with (non-EU) Norway who control all fishing stocks up to two hundred miles within the North Sea and has a booming commercial and angling tourism industry."
'Protecting stocks'
A handful of dinghies and other vessels bearing In flags sought to "intercept" the flotilla as it passed under Tower Bridge.
Sir Bob Geldof and broadcaster Rachel Johnson, sister of Leave supporting MP Boris Johnson, are among those on a separate In vessel - which has been playing the song "The In Crowd" over loud speakers.
Shadow Environment Secretary Kerry McCarthy said being in the EU was good for British fishermen as it gave them access to Europe's fishing waters and their boats are able to land and sell their catch in any EU country.
She blamed the Conservative government for failing to ensure more smaller enterprises did not benefit from the UK's catch quota and that reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, not Brexit, was what was needed.
"To protect fish stocks and the livelihoods that depend upon them, we need a European-wide collective approach. We cannot risk a return to the bad old days where fish stocks were declining so fast that there were species on the verge of extinction."
Nigel Farage EU Leave fishing flotilla sails up Thames - BBC News
