The UK and Jersey governments have issued further licences to French fishing boats to trawl British waters in an apparent attempt to ease cross-Channel tensions. The Brussels-imposed deadline of midnight on Friday into Saturday for solving a post-Brexit fishing row passed without an agreement being announced. However, the UK government has since confirmed that talks on Friday evening between Environment Secretary George Eustice and Virginijus Sinkevicius from the European Commission, following “several weeks of intensive technical discussions on licensing,” resulted in more small boat licences being granted. In a statement, a spokeswoman said 18 more licences had been granted to replacement vessels that had been able to present “new evidence” of having previously fished British grounds, with seven more boats under consideration. Jersey has granted permanent licences to an additional five vessels, she said. France had threatened to press the European Union to instigate legal action and trade restrictions against …