RUTH Davidson and Michael Gove have joined forces to call for the UK to take full control of its fishing waters after Brexit.

The leader of the Scottish Conservatives and the UK Environment Secretary have backed efforts to ensure the UK leaves the controversial common fisher ies policy, saying it is “vital” the country regains control over its own fisheries management.

It comes as the UK Government confirmed it would table amendments to its Brexit Bill to ensure the “vast majority” of devolved powers currently held in Brussels are transferred to Scotland.

The announcement came despite a failure to reach agreement with the Scottish and Welsh governments, who claim the move represents a “power grab” and have demanded all powers are returned on exiting the EU.

In a joint statement, Ms Davidson and Mr Gove said they were “united in our determination to ensure Brexit delivers for Britain’s fishing communities”.

They added: “As proud Scots, we feel a particular debt to fishing communities who are looking to government to deliver a better deal for them. We agree we must deliver a fairer allocation for the British fleet in our own waters.

“As we leave the EU, we want the UK to become an independent coastal state, negotiating access annually with our neighbours.

And during the implementation period we will ensure British fishermen’s interests are properly safeguarded.”

The intervention comes after draft guidelines indicated the EU was seeking “existing reciprocal access to fishing waters” after Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said he wanted to ensure “British fishermen get a better deal in the future than the one they’ve had in the past”. But he also said Brexit talks may involve negotiating reciprocal access rights for EU fishermen.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation have insisted Britain should operate as a “fully functioning coastal state” after it leaves the EU. It wants an immediate exit from the common fisheries policy in March 2019 – with no EU interference during the two-year transition period.

Chief executive Bertie Armstrong said securing a fair deal for fishermen “must mean an immediate end to the current situation in which EU vessels are entitled, gratis, to 60 per cent of the fish in UK waters while our own vessels are allowed to catch just 40 per cent”.

But Scottish Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing, whose responsibilities include fisheries, warned that Prime Minister Theresa May was preparing to trade away valuable fishing rights to secure a postBrexit deal with the EU.

It comes as the Scottish Government continues to push through rival Brexit legislation to try to force Downing Street to agree to amend its Brexit Bill.

The UK Government said reaching agreement over the issue was its “preferred outcome”, but confirmed it will now push ahead with its own amendments regardless.

The Scottish Conservatives have urged the SNP to scrap its alternative legislation – aimed at transferring EU rules into Scots Law – and have tabled 147 amendments in an effort to derail it.

Meanwhile, a bid to change Scottish Labour’s policy to support membership of the single market after Brexit failed at the party’s conference in Dundee.