£36bn bill to quit ‘barmy’ says MP
THE idea of Britain paying Brussels tens of billions of pounds to quit Europe was branded “frankly barmy” by a top Tory MP yesterday.
Brexit-backing former Environment Secretary Owen Paterson said he could even see a case for Europe giving us cash back because we have been such a big contributor.
His comments follow claims Theresa May would be ready to pay up to £36billion over the next few years in exchange for a comprehensive free trade deal with Brussels.
Downing Street has played that down but when asked his view Mr Paterson said: “Those sound to me frankly barmy figures, considering we have been massive net contributors to this organisation.”
He declined to put a figure on a payment he would find acceptable, saying it depended on Britain’s legal obligations and on which EU programmes we wanted to stay in.
These may include the Erasmus educational exchange programme or the Horizon research fund, though he did not expect outlay on those to be any more than “modest”.
Speaking on Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Paterson said he would be “most surprised” if Britain’s final payment came to tens of billions.
He said: “You have to remember the huge contribution we have made as the second biggest contributor for many years to the EU.
“There is a very good case that they could give us some of our money back.”
Yesterday the Daily Express revealed the Government is considering handing over a sum nearer to £10billion as a “goodwill” payment.
This would plug a hole the EU would otherwise have in its budget for the year following Britain’s 2019 departure.