UK Justice Secretary Michael Gove was left red-faced last night after he muddled up the names of two major north-east ports.
The former Press and Journal reporter – who is campaigning for a British exit from the EU – made the blunder as he attacked the Common Fisheries Policy.
Moments after declaring fishing an issue “close to my heart”, he referred to the ports of Peterborough and Fraserhead – instead of Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
Taking questions after a speech setting out his vision of life outside the EU, the Tory minister said: “You touch on an issue very close to my heart.
“Some in this audience might know that my father inherited a fish merchant’s business in Aberdeen from my grandfather and that business went to the wall, partly as a result of the Common Fisheries Policy.
“The Common Fisheries Policy essentially gave other EU nations unfettered access to our fish stocks.
“I would hope that if we leave the EU we can once more see the ports of Peterborough and Fraserhead and Grimsby flourishing, because we will take back control of our territorial waters.”
He added: “I recognise that fishing is perhaps not the most high employment industry in this country, but it’s a symbol of what we lost when we entered the EU – control over national resources that if we retained them we could have husbanded in our interest and indeed in the interest of others.”
Mr Gove, who was raised in the Granite City and is likely to have covered stories about the ports during his time at the paper, was mocked on social media over the slip-up.
It was compounded by the fact Peterborough – in the east of England – is landlocked.
In his speech at Vote Leave’s headquarters in London, Mr Gove said the UK would thrive as a member of the European free trade zone without being bound by restrictions imposed from Brussels if the country backed Brexit.
He added it was “ridiculous” and “preposterous” to suggest that EU leaders would attempt to block trading links with the UK after the June 23 referendum.
And he insisted Prime Minister David Cameron would be prevented from carrying out his plan to trigger the two-year timetable to quit the EU immediately if Leave won, as “no responsible government” would do that.
In addition, he suggested Brexit could spell the end for the EU as it currently exists, with the UK’s decision spreading a “contagion” of democracy across the continent.
Meanwhile, eurosceptic Tory backbenchers have described a Treasury report warning that families would be £4,300 a year worse off if the UK votes to leave the EU as “disgracefully dodgy” and “worthy of (children’s story time programme) Jackanory”.
The analysis published by Chancellor George Osborne on Monday paints a grim picture of the potential consequences of a vote to leave the EU.
