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Jayne Ayde, director of the Get Britain Out campaign, was speaking at a time of rising tension between London and Brussels, with the latter having taken steps to restrict the export of vaccines to countries which – like the UK – have significantly higher vaccination rates than that of the EU27. Separately, Brexiteers remain deeply concerned at the impact of the trade deal signed by Boris Johnson on the British fishing industry, and believe access to UK waters should be restricted for this reason also. Get Britain Out wrote to Environment Secretary George Eustice earlier this month urging him to ban all EU boats from British waters until the ongoing dispute over shellfish exports has been resolved. But she told Express.co.uk it might be time to go even further, given the bloc’s behaviour in numerous areas, by imposing an outright ban which would send a strong message to Brussels. She explained: “Unfortunately, the Prime Minister is concentrating on two fronts. “He's concentrating on trying to sort out the Covid problem that the EU has raised with the vaccine situation and he is also going around the country trying to keep his profile up for the May elections. “And he doesn't really seem to be concentrating on very much to do with Brexit. “I did hear that he's banned the use of the word Brexit in Number 10. “As far as he's concerned Brexit is finished – but clearly it isn't otherwise I wouldn't still be running the campaign.” She added: “You know we threatened to come out on WTO rules. And that seemed to sort of wake them up a bit, they didn't want to do that. “But WTO rules would have eventually meant we actually did come to some agreement, I'm sure. “At the moment, there just doesn't seem to be any feeling that anybody is really concerned." Assessing Brussels’ current approach, Mrs Ayde suggested eurocrats were currently taking advantage of the UK’s willingness to be cooperative. She explained: “The EU has the ability to just slap, slap us down all the time doing. “We've done the rational thing, not charging tariffs and stuff like that. “And they just think that's not going to be what they’re going to do, they’re just going to do the worst because they don't like that we're succeeding.” Agreeing that a ban on EU shipping would help focus the bloc’s attention on finding practical solutions, she added: “We frequently said we've got to stop being Mr Nice Guy. “If the Prime Minister wants to fight back against the EU’s attempts to bully the UK, while also focusing their minds on the critical issues, perhaps a total ban on EU vessels fishing in UK waters would be the best option. “This might just focus the EU’s minds on behaving responsibly. “If we want progress on fishing rights, financial services and the vaccine fiasco, as well as all the other issues which need to be resolved, we have to hit back and stop playing ‘nice’, as they do not seem to understand what Boris Johnson means when he talks about being ‘friends and partners’. In an e-bulletin sent to subscribers on March 19, Get Britain Out states: “It has become very clear to everyone now. "The EU has no interest in seeing the UK as a ‘friend and partner’ – as the Prime Minister loves to call the EU – but as an adversary who they must undermine at every turn. “It’s time we pushed back against the EU and stopped playing the part of ‘Mr Nice Guy’, who always blinks first in a standoff. “We cannot continue to act as if nothing needs to be resolved. "To quote Ursula von der Leyen’s latest buzz-word, there must be ‘reciprocity’ – and the EU is definitely not showing any towards the UK! “We must take the fight to Brussels through the enforcement of checks on goods coming into the UK and cutting off the money which we are STILL sending to Brussels every year, money we supposedly only agreed to pay as a sign of ‘good faith’ between the UK and the EU. “