Britain and the EU have an ‘agreement in principle’ on how to calculate the Brexit divorce bill, it was claimed tonight.
In what would be a crucial first step to hammering out a draft divorce agreement in time for Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker to meet over lunch on Monday, it was claimed an outline plan could see the final cost rise to almost £50billion.
An exact figure is unlikely to ever be made public as negotiations have focused on how to calculate what is included and not an incendiary headline number.
Mrs May is thought to have agreed with her Cabinet to double Britain’s offer to around £40billion at a secret summit last week – within the new formula.
Sources at the Brexit department told MailOnline tonight the agreement was still not locked and ‘nothing has been agreed until everything has been agreed’.
Bigger problems remain in resolving how to operate the Irish border and offering guarantees to EU citizens living in Britain after Brexit.
In a crucial first step to hammering out a draft divorce agreement in time for Theresa May (pictured in Downing Street yesterday) and Jean-Claude Juncker to meet over lunch on Monday, the outline plan could see the final cost rise to almost £50billion
David Davis (pictured tonight in Downing Street) has been working to secure agreement from Brussels that ‘sufficient progress’ has been made on striking a divorce deal
Sources on both sides of the Channel told the Daily Telegraph tonight that the ‘agreement in principle’ had been struck following intensive work by Ollie Robbins, a senior civil servant and Britain’s lead negotiator.
The sources told the paper the agreed methodology would bring the final bill to 45-55 billion euros – roughly £40-49billion on today’s exchange rates.
Agreeing a draft framework on money is one of three key issues on which EU leaders must agree there is ‘sufficient progress’ if they are to start trade talks next month.
There are still disagreements about enforcing EU citizens rights in Britain after Brexit.
And there is deepening impasse over the Irish border which could still de-rail hopes of getting a green light on trade at the summit on December 14.
A spokesman for the Brexit department told the Telegraph that ‘intensive talks’ were continuing in Brussels ahead of next week’s meeting.
‘We are exploring how we can continue to build on recent momentum in the talks so that together we can move the negotiations onto the next phase and discuss our future partnership,’ he said
It was claimed tonight that the ‘agreement in principle’ had been struck following intensive work by Ollie Robbins (left with Brexit Secretary David Davis), a senior civil servant and Britain’s lead negotiator
The revelations tonight on an apparent agreement come after ex-Cabinet minister Priti Patel said she would have told Europe to ‘s** off’ over the divorce bill.
The leading Brexiteer urged a tougher line in negotiations as she said the way they had been handled so far was ‘not ideal’.
In her most significant intervention since being forced to resign by Theresa May over secret meetings with Israeli politicians, Miss Patel said government had been ‘ill equipped’ for the challenge and should be more optimistic about the UK’s prospects.
The comments came at an event in London hosted by The Spectator magazine, following her resignation earlier this month.
Ms Patel said one of the Government’s failings had been not setting out the economic opportunities that Brexit presented.
‘The Government has been ill-equipped in terms of preparations for the negotiations,’ she said.
‘It’s not an ideal state at all.’
Priti Patel, pictured at the Conservative Party conference in September, urged a tough line with the EU on the divorce bill
Addressing the issue of the divorce bill offer – which Theresa May is expected to double to around £40billion in the coming weeks – The Tory MP said the figures were ‘excessive’.
‘My views on money are pretty clear, I don’t like spending money so I would have told the EU in particular to s** off with their excessive financial demands,’ she said.
She insisted Mrs May was leading in ‘very challenging circumstances’ and was ‘struggling now with a difficult set of cards post the election’.
But she said: ‘One of the failings is we have not set out that vision, what is that vision of Britain going to look like post-Brexit?
‘What are the economic opportunities for the City of London and for many other businesses and sectors in terms of leading out in the world and potentially trading with countries we have simply not been engaged with for not just years but for decades.
‘And also reflecting that the world is changing, the labour market is changing.’
Miss Patel went on: ‘We should have had conviction and clarity in terms of our end state and destination and presented that and been pretty forthright about it as well.
The MP, who has been tipped as a potential leadership candidate in any future contest, said the Tory grassroots should be given a greater role in the party, including at the annual conference.