Brexit-backing ministers insist those who benefit from EU cash will still get the money even if we vote to Leave
Priti Patel say there will be 'more than enough money' to continue the grants to farmers, regional funds and science
BREXIT-BACKING ministers are insisting those who benefit from EU cash will still get the money even if we vote to exit.
Leave campaigners say there will be "more than enough money" to continue the grants to farmers, regional funds and science as their spending commitments came under scrutiny.
Priti Patel joined senior Tory colleagues including Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former London Mayor Boris Johnson in committing to maintain current levels of funding in the latest policy pledge made by the Vote Leave campaign.
The move comes on top of promises to use the savings in contributions to the EU to provide £5.5billion a year to the NHS and spend £1.7billion abolishing VAT on household energy bills.
Remain campaigners branded the policy pledges "fantasy economics", but the Leave camp say the economy would grow once we quit Brussels.
Ms Patel told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We have been abundantly clear that there would be more than enough money to ensure that those who now get funding from the EU - including universities, scientists, farmers, regional funds - would continue to get money, while ensuring that could be spent on our priorities."
"We are giving money to the European Union and when it comes back, it comes back with controls, it comes back with us as government ministers and the British Government not being able to decide how to prioritise that money and what we can spend it on, it's the European Union that dictates how we spend that money.
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"We are clearly saying that if we take back control of that money we can spend it on a range of our priorities - the ones that I have listed today but on top of that we can continue to invest in the NHS, we can scrap VAT on fuel which affects people on low incomes.
"These are the priorities that will make a significant difference to our country and the British public."
Although a range of economists and international bodies had forecast a major hit to the economy from Brexit, at least in the short term, Ms Patel said it was "pretty pessimistic that the Remain side keep talking down our economy".
She said: "There would be more economic growth through the opportunities that we would have to trade with new countries around the world."
But Labour In campaign chief Alan Johnson told Today: "Vote Leave say, in their latest fantasy economics, we are going to give all this money back - that money won't exist.”
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