The Cornelis Gert Jan was seized last week, with French authorities saying it had been caught fishing for scallops in French territorial waters without a proper licence.

The lawyer for the Irish captain, Jondy Ward, said earlier the vessel was a pawn in a wider political row between Paris and London over fishing rights after Britain's departure from the European Union.

"We are obviously delighted and relieved that the vessel can leave and our crew can get home," said Andrew Brown, a director of the trawler.

France and Britain this week came to the brink of a cross-Channel trade war, with Paris alleging that London was denying fishing licences to French trawlers they were entitled to under a post-Brexit deal.

Britain said it was honouring the deal, and accused France of blowing the affair up out of all proportion. Paris had threatened to step up checks on trucks and produce arriving from Britain and to bar British trawlers docking in French ports.