You need a licence to do that. UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy has now heeded those words after admitting he did not have a rod licence to go fishing with visiting U.S. Vice President JD Vance. He blamed the mistake on an “administrative error.”
A repentant Lammy has contacted the Environment Agency to admit the mistake and has bought a fishing licence, the BBC reports.
The outlet sets out anglers in England and Wales aged 13 or over must have a rod fishing licence to fish for freshwater species. They can be fined if they do not have one.
The foreign secretary did not catch any fish when he went angling with his guest Vance at his official residence at Chevening House, Kent, last week. The BBC report sets out the circumstances:
The two men went carp fishing in a pond near the 17th-century house before they held talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the residence during Vance’s family holiday to the UK.
At the start of their meeting, the vice-president said: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not.”
All fish that were caught were returned to the private lake.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “The foreign secretary has written to the Environment Agency over an administrative oversight that meant the appropriate licences had not been acquired for fishing on a private lake as part of a diplomatic engagement at Chevening House last week.
“As soon as the foreign secretary was made aware of the administrative error, he successfully purchased the relevant rod fishing licences.
“He also wrote to the Environment Agency notifying them of the error, demonstrating how it would be rectified, and thanking them for their work protecting Britain’s fisheries.”
As Breitbart News reported, Vance is currently on vacation in rural England with his wife and family, while also mixing some business with pleasure.
To that end, Vance held talks on Saturday with Ukrainian, European and British representatives at Chevening House, a 17th-century palatial house which serves as the countryside residence of the British foreign secretary in Kent, England.
A one-day licence for trout and coarse fishing costs £7.30.
Fishing illegally can incur a fine of up to £2,500, and offenders can also have their personal equipment seized.
Follow Simon Kent on Twitter: Follow @SunSimonKent or e-mail to: skent@breitbart.com
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