We must have been living in cloud cuckoo land to trust the politicians

Seven years ago the Conservative Party led Scotland into a Brexit referendum that ultimately dragged us out of Europe against our will. This week we look at the catastrophic impact on our industries and services, starting today with the broken promises sold to Scottish fishermen

- DAN VEVERS

FUMING Scots fishermen who once backed Brexit have said they were promised a "new dawn" before being "sold down the river".

Veterans and industry chiefs told the Daily Record how their sector had been treated as the "poster boy" for Brexit then "sacrificed" in the trade deal Boris Johnson agreed with the EU.

Speaking at Peterhead Harbour, skipper Peter Bruce said the reality of leaving Europe had shattered his trust in Brexiteer politicians.

He said: "It's been a big disappointment, to be quite honest.

"The politicians came up from London, Boris Johnson came up a couple of times, the highest levels of government came up to Peterhead Harbour, promising this new dawn for the fishing industry. And that new dawn hasn't come." Fishing was a key plank of the 2016 campaign, with slogans claiming Britain would "take back control of our waters and enjoy "seas of opportunity".

It led many fishermen, particularly small-boat fishers, to back Leave, with many detesting the EU's system of quotas in its Common Fisheries Policy.

The terms of the agreement ex-PM Johnson struck with Brussels, however, did not transform the UK into the promised "independent coastal state".

Instead, significant EU access to British waters will remain until at least 2026, when the UK and Brussels will begin to negotiate fishing stocks yearly.

Peter, semi-retired skipper of the Budding Rose, said: "We were sold down the river from when we entered the CFP in Europe and we feel very, very let down again with the deal we've got.