Fury as Italian MEP claims our £20bn offer is ‘peanuts’

THE head of the EU Parliament came under fire last night after dismissing Theresa May’s offer of a £ 20billion Brexit divorce payment as ‘peanuts’.

Antonio Tajani said the UK’s offer to continue paying EU membership fees for two years after leaving in March 2019 was ‘not realistic’.

The Italian MEP even quoted Margaret Thatcher’s famous demand for ‘ our money back’ as he piled pressure on Mrs May to agree to a divorce bill three times what she has offered.

But MPs said taxpayers would not see £20 billion as ‘peanuts’ – and that the UK was not legally obliged to pay the EU anything.

Brussels sources last night claimed Mrs May had privately told EU leaders she would be willing to pay a higher divorce bill. But diplomats said the assurance needed to be made in writing to achieve a breakthrough.

The EU Parliament has a veto on the final deal negoti- ated by the UK and Brussels. Speaking on BBC’s Newsnight, Mr Tajani suggested any deal could be blocked unless Britain agrees to hand over much more money.

‘We are realistic. The UK government is not realistic,’ he said. ‘We need to be very clear. We need to put the money on the table. We need our money back, as Mrs Thatcher said.

‘But we want not one euro more and not one euro less.

‘We need to pay ... then it is possible to start for the negotiations for the new deal.’ Challenged over claims the EU is cynically holding up talks in a bid to chisel more money from the UK, Mr Tajani said: ‘20billion is peanuts ... The problem is 50, 60 [billion euros], this is the real situation.’

Brussels is pushing for a divorce bill of up to £90 billion to cover items, including pensions of EU bureaucrats. Mr Tajani’s comments suggest the bloc is looking to secure at least £45billion.

Last night Government sources flatly dismissed the MEP’s ‘peanuts’ claim, with one saying: ‘The Prime Min- ister would not agree with that. We have made an open and constructive offer.’

Tory MP David Nuttall said the Government should not pay Brussels a penny more than it is legally obliged to. Government legal advice suggests the UK does not technically have to pay the EU a penny after leaving.

He added: ‘£20billion is not peanuts – this is taxpayers’ money we are talking about. The Prime Minister should not be paying a penny more than we are obliged to pay. We shouldn’t be making... any offer at all. If they have a legal claim they should present it.’