Pay EU’s extortionate divorce bill? They can go whistle, insists Boris

BORIS Johnson last night told EU leaders they could ‘go whistle’ if they expect the UK to pay an ‘extortionate’ Brexit divorce bill.

The Foreign Secretary set out the robust approach to negotiations on Britain’s exit payments – which senior EU figures have suggested could total £90billion.

He told the Commons: ‘The sums I have seen that they propose to demand from this country appear to be extortionate.’

He added that ‘go whistle’ seemed to be an entirely appropriate expression.

His comments came as it emerged senior continental politicians, including French president Emmanuel Macron, have demanded talks on a trade deal begin more quickly. Currently officials are discussing exit payments, the status of EU nationals in Britain and expats on the continent and the Northern Ireland border.

But Brexit Secretary David Davis said the French president and the leaders of Holland and Belgium confronted EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier at a meeting last month, complaining that talks so far had covered ‘just technicalities’.

Mr Johnson’s comments came at Foreign Affairs questions in the Commons. Tory Eurosceptic Philip Hollobone said the UK had made a net contribution of £209billion to the EU since joining in 1973. He added: ‘Will you make it clear to the EU that if they want a penny piece more then they can go whistle?’

Mr Johnson replied: ‘I’m sure that your words will have broken like a thunderclap over Brussels and they will pay attention to what you have said.

‘He [Mr Hollobone] makes a very valid point and I think that the sums that I have seen that they propose to demand from this country seem to me to be extortionate and I think “to go whistle” is an entirely appropriate expression.’

But the comments provoked outrage from Labour. Jeremy Corbyn said: ‘I think it is ridiculous for the Foreign Secretary to approach important and serious negotiations with that silly, arrogant language that he so often employs. Treat people with respect and there’s a fair chance you will be treated with respect in return. If you start on the basis of those silly remarks, what kind of response does he expect to get?’