THINGS ARE LOOKING UP
Boris Johnson warns Donald Tusk Britain WON’T pay £39billion divorce bill in No Deal Brexit – and chances are now ‘touch and go’
BORIS Johnson has warned Donald Tusk today that Britain is not legally obliged to pay the EU the full £39billion divorce bill if we leave without a deal.
The new PM held fresh talks with the European Commission boss this morning, and he warned that the chances of a No Deal were now "touch and go".
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The Prime Minister was set to tell him that the UK intends paying just a fraction of the £39 billion divorce bill agreed by Theresa May if there's no Brexit deal.
Mr Johnson has ordered Government lawyers to calculate how much of the bill the UK is liable to pay and they concluded it could be as little as £7 billion, the Sunday Times and reported.
Boris said in a clip to Sky News this lunchtime: "I think what the entire European Union understands if we come out without a deal, the £39bn is not pledged.
"They understand that if there isn't a deal, then the £39bn is no longer legally pledged."
And he told the BBC: "I think it's going to be touch and go but the important thing is to get ready to come out without a deal."
But he did admit that the chances of getting a deal are "improving" and said he's had "some success" in European talks this week.
Just a few weeks ago Boris said the chances of a No Deal were "a million to one".
The PM promised today that if there was a no-deal Brexit people would still be able to get their medicine - playing down scare stories that Brits could be in danger due to customs problems at ports.
He said: "That is certainly a guarantee that we can make."
And on reports of food shortages he insisted: "I think it's highly unlikely that there will be food shortages of any kind."
Yesterday, Johnson and Mr Tusk clashed over who would be to blame if the UK were to leave the European Union without a deal in October 31.
On the way to Biarritz, Mr Johnson had told reporters: "I have made it absolutely clear I don't want a no-deal Brexit.
"But I say to our friends in the EU if they don't want a no-deal Brexit then we have got to get rid of the backstop from the treaty.
"If Donald Tusk doesn't want to go down as 'Mr no-deal Brexit' then I hope that point will be borne in mind by him too."
PUNISHMENT
Mr Johnson hopes to punish the bloc for knocking back attempts to change the deal by withholding £30billion of the divorce bill, according to the newspaper.
On Saturday, Mr Tusk said he hoped the PM would not go down in history as "Mr no-deal".
The European Council president has previously claimed there is a "special place in hell" for people who backed Brexit without a clear plan to implement it.
Mr Johnson will also sit down with US President Donald Trump today at the summit.
He said a trade deal - which both sides have said they want - would require compromise from Washington while keeping key UK interests including the NHS off the table.
But Mr Johnson told reporters accompanying him at the G7 summit that while there was "a massive opportunity" for Britain, "it is not all going to be plain sailing".
G7 summit leaders sit down together for their first working session on the world economy and trade, and international security
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He said he had discussed the problems with Mr Trump in an eve-of-summit phone call, and highlighted barriers to the sale of British goods including shower trays, cauliflowers and Melton Mowbray pork pies.
"It goes without saying that there are sectors of the UK economy, not least the NHS, which remain completely off limits as far as any trade deal with America goes.
"We will not allow the NHS to be on the table at all," he added.
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