Foreign Secretary David Lammy has admitted he did not have a rod licence to go fishing with JD Vance and has blamed the oversight on an “administrative error”.
Lammy has written to the Environment Agency to tell them about the mistake and has bought a fishing licence.
The agency says anglers in England and Wales aged 13 or over must have a rod fishing licence to fish for freshwater species and can be fined if they do not have one.
The foreign secretary did not catch any fish when he went angling with the US vice-president at his official residence at Chevening House, Kent, last week.
The two men went carp fishing in a pond near the 17th-century house before they held talks about Gaza and other international affairs at the residence during Vance’s family holiday to the UK.
At the start of their meeting, the vice-president said: “Unfortunately, the one strain on the special relationship is that all of my kids caught fish, but the foreign secretary did not.”
All fish that were caught were returned to the private lake.
It is not clear if Vance had bought a fishing licence. The BBC has asked his spokesperson for comment.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said: “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.
“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.”
A one-day licence for trout and coarse fishing costs £7.30.
Fishing illegally can incur a fine of up to £2,500, and offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized.
In February, the Environment Agency said six anglers were found guilty of fishing illegally in London and were fined £2,182 collectively.
At the time, Richard Tyner, area fisheries team leader at the Environment Agency, said: “We inspect rod licences 24/7, 7 days a week to check on cases of illegal fishing, and for those caught cheating the system, we will always prosecute.
“Illegal fishing undermines the Environment Agency’s efforts to protect fish stocks and make fishing sustainable.”
The BBC asked the Environment Agency if Lammy had been fined and it did not answer the question.
The agency said all cases are carefully considered on their individual merits before any final enforcement decision is made.
An Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Everyone who goes fishing needs licence to help improve our rivers, lakes and the sport anglers love.
“We understand the relevant licences have been purchased.”