The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy admitted to fishing illegally with Vice President Vance last week.
Lammy’s office said he has reported himself for not acquiring the proper license required to fish for freshwater species, which could have resulted in a fine of up to 2,500 pounds ($3,394).
U.K. officials said Lammy has never previously fished at the site prior to last week and that Lammy’s home in Kent, Chevening House, provided the rods.
“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,” the U.K. Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said in a statement to The Hill.
“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,” he added.
However, some have taken issue with the incident, noting that exceptions are not traditionally made for citizens or politicians from another party.
“As per usual with Labour, it’s one rule for them and another for everyone else. Why is it acceptable for the Foreign Secretary to break the rules, but no one else?” a source within the Conservative Party told The Telegraph.
“Perhaps Labour should issue an apology at once,” they added.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said Lammy purchased the relevant license after learning of the administrative error.
However, he did not actually catch a fish during his outing with Vance, who is vacationing in the U.K. Officials said all fish that were caught were returned to the private lake.
The White House did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the matter.
“A real pleasure to welcome my friend @JDVance and his family to Chevening. Before beginning our bilateral, the Vice President gave me fishing tips, Kentucky style,” Lammy wrote in a post last Friday with a picture of him fishing next to Vance.
“The special relationship makes the UK and the US stronger, safer and better off,” he added.
Vance, who’s on a private vacation with his family, landed in Scotland on Wednesday for the next leg of his summer travel in the UK.
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