Britain’s foreign minister, David Lammy, could be fined after going fishing without a licence during a diplomatic weekend with U.S. vice-president JD Vance.
The two were photographed last week holding fishing rods at Chevening House, the grace-and-favour country estate often used by foreign secretaries. Vance was staying there with his family as part of a UK visit.
The two men went carp fishing in a pond near the house before they held talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the residence, BBC reported.
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“Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not,” Vance said at the start of a press conference after their illegal fishing trip.
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Rules in England and Wales state that anyone aged over 13 must have a rod licence to fish, including on private land. It is reported that neither Lammy nor Vance held a licence at the time.
Fishing without a licence can lead to a fine of up to £2,500 ($3,382) issued by the Environment Agency. Lammy has since bought a rod licence retrospectively and has written to the agency about the breach.
“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,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.
“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.”
According to Britain’s PA Media news agency, all fish caught by the group were returned to the water afterwards.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Everyone who goes fishing needs a licence to help improve our rivers, lakes and the sport anglers love. We understand the relevant licences have been purchased.”
