The harsh line comes in stark contrast to recent remarks by Michel Barnier, who has tried to chart a path towards compromise by agreeing to water down the EU's insistence on status quo access.

He has tabled a mix-and-match solution pairing the UK's demand for a system of zonal attachment, which is based on scientific calculations of where fish species live, with weighting to reflect the historic rights of European fishermen.

So far British negotiators have rebuffed the offer and insisted Brussels must accept the UK will take back full control of its waters as an independent coastal state on January 1.

At a meeting of senior EU diplomats last week the French representative lashed out at colleagues from Lithuania and Hungary after they said hardline fishing demands driven by coastal states mustn't stand in the way of a deal.

In a first sign of internal splits within the bloc, France's ambassador accused them of showing a lack of solidarity and undermining unity, calling the comments "unacceptable".

However, privately negotiators in Brussels are confident it is "not that complicated" to find a compromise on access to waters, especially if Boris Johnson can demonstrate a big win for Scottish fishermen.

A senior EU source said: "It's a big ask for the EU and it's not such a big give for the UK, because in the end it's access to waters for access to markets. You can't eat fish in the morning, the evening, and at night."

EU diplomats said a major concern for Member States is that Brussels has the power to hit Britain with sanctions in other areas of trade if it suddenly decides to cut off access to waters for their vessels.

One said: "There is a clear interest on the UK side, because their fleet wont even be able to fish as much as is now being fished in UK waters, and the majority of their fish products exported to the internal market."

During a video conference call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last month the PM insisted the final deal will have to represent a "huge difference" from the current arrangements.

Meanwhile, Mr Barnier has set a new deadline of October 31 for the negotiations to be wrapped up.

He told the French parliament's foreign affairs committee thatHalloween is the latest possible date if the agreement is to be ratified in time for the end of the year.

Mr Barnier also revealedthe majority of the final trade deal will notneed to be voted on by the 27 member state parliaments, boosting the chances of it being in place on January 1.

A UK spokesman said:The EU continues to insist on fisheries arrangements and access to UK fishing waters in a continuation of the status quo. This is incompatible with our future status as an independent coastal state.

We are fully committed to agreeing fishing provisions in line with the Political Declaration, but we cannot agree arrangements that are manifestly unbalanced, against the interests of the UK fishing industry, and do not respect the UKs right to control access to its waters from January next year.

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Post-Brexit fishing row escalates as France tells the UK it will fight for French fishermen - Telegraph.co.uk