UK Will Pay £36 Billion ‘Brexit Bill’ Even Without Deal, Says Chancellor Remainer Phil

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Liam Deacon

Brexiteers have slammed Chancellor Philip Hammond after he said Britain will still pay the £36 billion ‘Brexit bill’ to the European Union (EU) if Brussels bosses fail to strike a deal with the UK.

The massive payout is considered to be one of the UK’s major bargaining chips, but Hammond says the UK would be forced to pay it in a hypothetical legal battle, so it cannot be used in negotiations.

According to The Telegraph, the chancellor said the country would only save between £3bn and £9bn if negotiations end in no-deal.

“He said that the Treasury’s legal advice was that if we left without a deal we would still have to pay the EU £30-36bn because we would be unlikely to win any case that went to international arbitration,” a cabinet source reportedly said.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leading Eurosceptic Tory MP, blasted: “It’s simply wrong. The House of Lords produced an authoritative report which set out that we have no obligation under UK, EU or international law to pay anything if we leave under the terms of Article 50 without a withdrawal agreement.

“It’s a cavalier approach to taxpayers’ money. I didn’t realise the ending of austerity meant drowning the European Union in cash.

“The Treasury is so mired in project fear it wants to search out the weakest legal arguments for the most expensive outcome for the British taxpayer.”

The Chancellor’s claim comes as Prime Minister Theresa May travels to Brussels on Wednesday for a crunch meeting that aims to solve the issue of the Irish border.

Mrs May is set to address EU leaders amid claims from the European Council President Donald Tusk that there is “no optimism” for a deal.

He called on the Prime Minister to come up with “concrete proposals” to break the “impasse” after Mrs May claimed her unpopular Brexit plan is the only option, despite being explicitly rejected by Brussels multiple times.

Many senior members of the cabinet are turning on the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, with the European Research Group, led by Mr Rees-Mogg, threatening to trigger a vote of no confidence if she does not abandon it.

Alternatively, Brexiteers favour a free trade deal with the bloc, which would free the UK of many of the bloc’s rule on goods, manufacturing, and trade, unlike Mrs May’s plan.

However, the International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said Tuesday that the two year transition period would need to be extended even further to have a chance of agreeing such a deal.

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