Theresa May rules out agreeing to £36bn Brexit divorce bill as Downing Street insists UK will pay EU ‘no more than it needs to’
Downing Street source said the figure reported yesterday was ‘inaccurate speculation’ as Tory Eurosceptics react with anger
THERESA May has ruled out agreeing to a €40billion Brexit “divorce bill” as Downing Street insists the UK will pay the EU “no more than it needs to” to leave.
Number 10 denied the Prime Minister is prepared to hand over the sum, as the deadlock over the figure threatens to derail negotiations with Brussels.
Yesterday it was reported the Britain was willing to sign off on a £36billion bill, but sources in the Times suggest that was far above what Mrs May was willing to consider.
A Downing Street source said the figure was “inaccurate speculation”, with Number 10 insisting it will pay “no more than it needs to” in its settlement with the EU.
It comes after Tory Eurosceptics reacted with anger to the reports – with some suggesting there should be no money handed over at all.
A government spokesman said: “As the secretary of state for Exiting the European Union has made clear, we will meet our international responsibilities but the UK will not pay more than it needs to.”
Downing Street denied that Mrs May was prepared to meet Brussels halfway on how much the UK will continue to pay the EU after it leaves, to break a deadlock in negotiations.
Another senior Government source confirmed "no such figure has been agreed", as civil servants were accused of trying "ram through" the details of the divorce bill while the majority of Cabinet ministers are away on holiday.
A source told The Daily Express said: "It feels like a lot of work is going on over the summer and a lot of decisions are being made while the Cabinet is out of the loop.
"It's not good. Cynics would say that they are trying to ram it though while there isn't time for proper scrutiny."
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And David Jones, a former Brexit minister, said: "It looks very much as if officials are trying to bounce ministers into accepting an outcome of negotiations they will not be happy with.
“The whole thing is extremely unhelpful and against the national interest.”
Another Tory MP, Kit Malthouse, told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour it was "weird" for Brussels to ask for cash to agree a trade deal.
He added: "They seem to say 'well, if you want free trade you'll have to pay for it' - well then, it's not free trade."
And John Redwood, MP for Wokingham, told LBC Radio the idea the UK had to pay the EU to secure trade talks was “just ridiculous”.
He said: “Ministers would be quite wrong to be talking about any figures - We don’t owe them any money.”
Another Brexiteer, Peter Bone, said a Brexit fee of £36 billion was unlikely to get through Parliament – and Jacob Rees-Mogg said: "There is no logic to this figure, legally we owe nothing."
And Suella Fernandes, chairwoman of the powerful pro-Brexit European Research Group, said: "This reported figure is however pure speculation. There's no basis for it and we don't recognise the figure."
But some Eurosceptic MPs believe the divorce bill may be a price worth paying, with Conor Burns, parliamentary private secretary to Boris Johnson telling the Telegraph: "Britain is a nation that honours her obligations.
“Many of us who campaigned to leave the EU are more focused on the prize than the price."