Theresa May insists Brussels owes Britain £8.5billion as David Davis warns we can walk away from talks

THERESA MAY has said Brussels owes Britain £8.5billion and must pay their OWN Brexit Bill for our share in EU assets when we quit.

The Prime Minister said our share in the European Investment Bank and other joint projects should be taken into account when discussing our exit.

she said that “money paid in the past” must be considered – and that we have “rights” too.

Brussels chiefs have repeatedly said they will charge us billions to quit the bloc when talks on our exit start within weeks.

She said: “There is much debate about what the UK’s obligations might be or indeed what our rights might be in terms of money being paid in in the past. We make it clear that we would look at those both rights and obligations.”

Mrs May mentioned the “investment bank, investment fund… this will be… an important part of the negotiations”.

Meanwhile, Brexit Secretary David Davis vowed that we WOULD walk away unless EU chiefs back down on excessive demands.

he said that talks would enter a “crisis” point from the start if the EU refuse to start talks on trade early on.

He urged them to moderate their demands – or we would walk away.

Mr Davis said: “We don’t need to just look like we can walk away, we need to be able to walk away. Under the circumstances, if that was necessary, we would be in a position to do it.”

And he slammed plans from the bloc for EU citizens to get full rights to live an work here and claim benefits.

“How on earth would you manage such an exercise?” he said, rejecting it outright.

EU sources said the chances of us getting no deal were now “over 50 per cent”.

Mr David is set to square up to EU chief Michel Barnier next month when talks finally kick off.

A 15-month battle will begin to shape the future of our nation.

The first meeting between the main players in the talks is likely to take place in the new Europa building, a £283million transparent structure nicknamed the “Space Egg”.

June 19, which is also Boris Johnson’s birthday, will also see Brexit Secretary Mr Davis and Mr Barnier begin discussions on the so-called “divorce bill” in earnest.

Figures ranging from £50billion all the way to £100billion have been bandied about by Brussels, who say Britain has existing commitments it must pay into.

But independent experts have thrown cold water on the EU’s claims of how much we owe them, with new analysis suggesting the true amount owed may be as little as £5billion.

However Theresa May risked the wrath of the Brexiteers with a pledge for a huge payout to smooth a future trade deal.