We’ll cut divorce bill

May warning to EU as it is claimed £39bn offer could be slashed by half

BRITAIN’S £39billion divorce offer to Brussels will be slashed if the EU fails to grant a comprehensive trade deal, Theresa May warned yesterday.

The Prime Minister insisted it was a ‘specific offer’ made on the expectation of an acceptable agreement.

She warned the bloc that without an a deal ‘the position changes’. Mrs May stressed that the UK was ‘a country that honours our obligations’. But sources suggested the divorce payment could be slashed by more than half if there is no deal. Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab warned last month that the final payment could be cut – and could also be delayed, causing problems for the EU’s budget process. Yesterday Mrs May said: She said: ‘The specific offer was made in the spirit of our desire to reach a deal with the European Union and on the basis, as the EU itself has said, that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. Without a deal, the position changes.’

A second set of ‘technical notices’ outlining the preparations for a nodeal exit will be published today. In a series of announcements:

Ministers will say that holidaymakers will not be hit with mobile phone roaming charges when travelling in Europe – even if Britain leaves without a deal;

The no-deal notices will warn that drivers would need a new international licence to use their cars in the EU in the event of no deal;

They will also warn that anyone with less than six months to run on their passports would have to renew before travelling to the EU.

The 24 notices will also cover public procurement, vehicle standards and the future of co-operation with EU space programmes.

On mobiles, ministers will announce they have struck an agreement with the major mobile phone operators that will avoid a return to the exorbitant charges of the past.

Whitehall sources said Vodafone, Three, EE and O2, which account for 85 per cent of the market, have agreed the deal following months of

‘Preparing for all outcomes’

talks with ministers. ‘Market forces suggest the others will follow suit,’ a source said last night.

Mr Raab will also issue a pledge today that the £45-a-month cap on mobile data in the EU will also remain, even if talks collapse.

On driving licences, motorists will need a new international licence to use their cars in the EU in the event of no deal. The EU is likely to refuse to recognise UK driving licences if Brexit talks collapse, a Department for Transport document will state.

An international driving licence will be needed for anyone driving in the EU after March 29, for hiring or obtaining insurance, unless Brussels or individual member states waive the rules. To complicate matters, there are two types of permit and different versions could be needed for different countries.

An EU notice issued last month said: ‘A driving licence issued by the UK will no longer be recognised by the member states.’

Ministers say the UK will continue to recognise EU licences.

Government sources said a Cabinet meeting today – the first of its kind – will be told that ministers will have to begin activating the no-deal contingency plans in November in order to have them up and running in time for the UK’s departure from the EU in March next year.

The timescale will intensify the pressure on both sides to strike a deal at a special EU Brexit summit now being pencilled in for the middle of November.

Brussels is sceptical about Mrs May’s willingness to leave without a deal. The new technical notices are designed to demonstrate to both Brussels and the public that the Government will be ready to leave at the end of March.

Mr Raab said: ‘We are stepping up our no- deal preparations so that Britain can continue to flourish, regardless of the outcome of negotiations.’