Britain paid extra £2.6bn into ‘bottomless EU coffers’ in past year

BRITAIN’S contribution to the EU has shot up by £2.6 billion in the past 12 months, new Treasury figures show, as the UK’S growing economy was used to prop up Brussels’ budget.

An “eye-popping” £15.5billion was sent across the Channel in the year ending March 31, compared with £12.9billion the year before – an increase of 20 per cent. The extra money would be enough to put 50,000 more police officers on the streets or fund 81,000 social care beds.

Brexiteers said the increase was yet more evidence that Britain must leave the EU as soon as possible to stop taxpayers’ money “pouring into bottomless EU coffers”.

Treasury accounts published this week show that the increase in Britain’s contribution was driven by a rise in UK Gross National Income, which is used to calculate the largest part of the payment.

It went up by £2.7billion, pushing the gross contribution to £20.3billion, which is reduced to £15.5 billion net after the UK’S rebate of almost £5billion is deducted.

Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader and chairman of Boris Johnson’s leadership campaign, said: “These figures are eye-popping. It’s ironic that as Philip Hammond launches his final vote fear tirade whilst voting against his Government, without having the decency or principle to resign, the Treasury shows that an increasing amount of British taxpayers’ money continues to pour into bottomless EU coffers.”

Britain is the third-biggest contributor to the EU, after Germany and France, and accounts for 13 per cent of the total EU budget.

A Treasury spokesman said: “Our contribution fluctuates between years depending on factors like economic performance and profile of EU spending.

“The amount goes up and down over the course of each seven-year agreed settlement.” The spokesman added: “This figure is still within the forecasted EU budget.”

♦the 25-year-old Brexit campaigner who yesterday won an appeal against a £20,000 fine for his 2016 student campaign has said the Electoral Commission’s lack of oversight makes it “not fit for purpose”. Darren Grimes was fined by the Electoral Commission for an alleged breach of electoral law on campaign financing.