Britain floats not paying if EU deal fails

LONDON — Britain’s slow move away from the European Union took a new twist Sunday as the new Brexit chief suggested that Britain might not pay its $51 billion divorce bill if no trade agreement with the European Union is reached.

Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab told the Sunday Telegraph that there must be “conditionality” between Britain making the hefty exit payment and its ability to create a new relationship with the EU.

“You can’t have one side fulfilling its side of the bargain and the other side not, or going slow, or failing to commit on its side,” he said.

Britain and the EU remain far apart on terms of a new trade setup. British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative Party is also deeply split over which Brexit policy to support.

Raab replaced David Davis, who resigned two weeks ago to protest May’s “soft” Brexit plan.

May has faced a rebellion from party colleagues who favor a complete break with the EU — a “hard” Brexit — rather than May’s proposal, which calls for a “common rule book” with European nations that would govern trade in goods.

EU negotiator Michel Barnier is also lukewarm on May’s proposal, asking many questions about its viability Friday. Raab, however, says he is still hopeful a deal can be concluded by October so the EU parliament and national parliaments of EU nations can ratify the deal before Britain leaves in March.

But former Prime Minister John Major warned that the hardliners in his own Conservative Party are making the situation worse.

“The danger at the moment is that they will frustrate every move the government seeks to make and by accident, because nothing can be agreed, we will crash out without a deal,” he said on the BBC.