SEVERAL people have been issued with fixed penalty notices (FPN) after a protest over the Brexit fishing deal in London.

Metropolitan Police confirmed that 14 people had been issued with fines after a protest on Monday morning.

Seafood hauliers descended on roads near 10 Downing Street in response to the issues they have faced in exporting seafood to the EU, saying they were being “tied in knots with paperwork” by the Brexit fishing deal.

Exports of fresh fish and seafood have been severely disrupted by delays since the UK’s transition period ended on December 31.

The new checks and paperwork has been causing massive delays for the industry since the UK left the European Union, with seafood producers growing increasingly frustrated at the lack of Government action.

Lorries transporting freshly-caught produce have been held up at distribution hubs and many have struggled to enter into France.

READ MORE: Brexit has shown fishing communities we are just pawns of politicians' whims​

A spokesman for the force said: “Police are aware of a protest in Westminster relating to the UK fishing industry – an appropriate policing plan is in place.

“We would remind those involved that London remains in Tier 4 for Covid restrictions and anyone breaching the regulation will be reported.

“No arrests occurred, but a number of lorries have been stopped and 14 people, who were either drivers or passengers in those vehicles, have been reported via FPN for Covid-related offences.”

On land, lorries transporting freshly-caught produce have been held up at distribution hubs and many have struggled to enter into France – a situation which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon described as “shameful and disgraceful”.

Scotland's fishing sector is furious with Tory ministers, who they feel have forced them to accept the “worst of both worlds” according to a letter from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation.

The group wrote to the Prime Minister warning of “huge disappointment and a great deal of anger about your failure to deliver on promises made repeatedly to this industry”.

On Sunday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed the delays were just “teething problems”, adding: “I’m not convinced that that is the result of the agreement.”

Analysis from the Scottish Government found that the UK Government's Brexit deal will result in a fall in the quantity of key fishing stocks landed, such as cod, haddock, whiting and saithe.

The deal means that the Scottish fishing industry will have access to fewer fishing opportunities than under the existing Common Fisheries Policy arrangements – even at the end of the five and a half year adjustment period.

Alasdair Hughson,  chairman of the Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation, said: "After the year that all of these businesses have had, struggling to survive against the odds, now faced with this situation - to now find themselves being blamed for not completing forms correctly when they are all just trying to follow Government guidelines which are unclear and changing all of the time.

"Hearing a wealthy and privileged Tory Minister making frivolous comments in the Parliament in some ridiculous attempt at playground humour, the last straw for many we think.

"If this debacle does not improve very soon we are looking at many established businesses coming to the end of the line."

He warned that the issues facing his business could have far-reaching consequences for local communties which rely on the work fishing brings.

Some Scottish fishermen have taken to landing their catch in Denmark to avoid the “bureaucratic system” that exports to Europe now involve.

A spokesperson from Eyemouth-based DR Collin & Son, who were taking part in the protest, said: “The industry is being tied in knots with paperwork requirements which would be easy enough to navigate, given that companies have put in the time and training in order to have all the relevant procedures in place for 1st January 2021.

“However, all the training is going to waste as the technology is outdated and cannot cope with the demands being placed on it – which in turn is resulting in no produce being able to leave the UK.

“These are not ‘teething issues’ as reported by the Government and the consequences of these problems will be catastrophic on the lives of fishermen, fishing towns and the shellfish industry as a whole.

Humza Yousaf said the image should "haunt" the Scottish Tories, adding: "Forget the Brexit lies Boris slapped on to side of a bus - here is the Brexit truth on the side of lorries from seafood and fisheries industry.

"These images should haunt the Scot Tories, your betrayal will not be forgotten."

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused the Government of trying to blame fishing communities for the issues caused by Brexit.

He said: “They are beyond frustrated, they are pretty angry about what’s gone on because the Government has known there would be a problem with fishing and particularly the sale of fish into the EU for years.

“It didn’t prepare for it and now it is doing the classic thing of the Government, which is trying to blame the fishing communities rather than accepting it’s their failure to prepare.”

It comes as Victoria Prentis, the Tory Fisheries Minister, and the Prime Minister both admitted they hadn't read the Brexit deal.

The SNP called for Prentis to resign after she said she was “very busy organising the local Nativity trail” and couldn't read all of the legislation.

Dr Philippa Whitford, the SNP's Shadow Brexit spokesperson, described Prentis' comment as "unbelievable".

READ MORE: SNP call on Victoria Prentis to quit for being 'too busy with nativity' to read Brexit deal

Jacob Rees-Mogg was also blasted for claiming Brexit has made fish "British fish and they’re better and happier fish for it".

He made the remark in response to genuine concerns raised by the SNP's Tommy Sheppard about the impact exiting the EU has had on the Scottish fishing industry.

Sheppard said exiting the European bloc had been a "disaster”, and asked for a debate on compensation for the Scottish fishing industry.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle intervened and noted: “Obviously there’s no overwhelming evidence for that.”

READ MORE: Fish are happier post-Brexit as they are British now, Jacob Rees-Mogg claims

On Twitter, SNP MP Drew Hendry said the comments showed the Tories "are just getting worse and worse". "This is beyond negligence and complacency," he added.