Theresa May vows Britain will not pay multi-billion EU demand Theresa May insisted last night she will fight any demands for Britain to pay a £52billion ‘divorce bill’ when it leaves the EU. The Prime Minister warned European leaders the British people did not vote for Brexit only to keep sending huge sums to Brussels. The row over a potential bill intensified yesterday as EU figures claimed the amount would have to be settled before talks on a new trading relationship start. But Mrs May, in Brussels for an EU leaders’ summit, said: ‘I’m clear that the way people voted on June 23 for us to leave the European Union, they voted for us in the future not paying huge sums of money into the EU every year. ‘And of course when we leave the EU that will be the case.’ – Daily Mail Britain will have to pay Brexit ‘divorce bill’, says Irish Prime Minister – Independent May vows Britain will not pay – The Sun Boris Johnson urges May to remember Thatcher’s rebate Theresa May should think back to Margaret Thatcher’s fight for a UK rebate from Brussels as she battles a multibillion pound Brexit divorce bill from the EU, Boris Johnson has suggested. The foreign secretary – referring to the actions the former Conservative prime minister – appeared to apply pressure on May to stand firm against EU demands for cash, amid reports saying the UK could be asked to hand over up to £50bn as an exit fee. Asked about that prospect, Johnson said: “I think we have illustrious precedent in this matter: I think you can recall the 1984 Fontainebleau summit in which Mrs Thatcher said she wanted her money back and I think that is exactly what we will get.” – The Guardian Demand cash back like Thatcher, says Johnson –The Times (£) The Maltese PM admits UK divorce bill hasn’t even been discussed The Maltese Prime minister has cast doubt on a tough EU stance during Brexit negotiations as he revealed that its position had not even been discussed formally with member states. Labour politician Joseph Muscat, who’s Mediterranean island nation currently holds the EU presidency said that while he favoured agreeing an exit deal before any future relationship is discussed, this is by no means agreed at a European level. His comments are likely to come as good news for Brexit secretary David Davis who is arguing that the two issue need to be debated ‘in parallel’ amid fraught exchanges over an EU proposal for saddling Britain with a €60 billion ‘divorce bill’. – Daily Express Liam Fox extols free trade at first ever Commonwealth trade summit International trade secretary Liam Fox has met with more than 20 different Commonwealth counterparts at the first meeting of its kind at Lancaster House.The Commonwealth Secretariat hosted Fox and trade ministers from around the world for a summit in London to discuss increased collaboration in commerce. And speaking at the event, Fox extolled the benefits of free trade. “Those of us, represented here today, have, through our shared history and experience, witnessed the transformation that trade can bring and have a duty to ensure that the benefits that we enjoy today are made available to future generations,” he said. Latest figures show intra-Commonwealth trade is projected to be worth a trillion dollars a year by 2020, with countries whose imports are likely to grow fastest including Mozambique, Bangladesh, India, Brunei, Ghana and Sierra Leone. – City A.M. Protectionism ‘the Class A drug of the trading world’, says Liam Fox – Belfast Telegraph Canada near the front of the queue for UK trade talks in a post-Brexit world – Global News UK trade minister flags India to woo Commonwealth – Hindustan Times David Davis says most sectors won’t need transition periods post-Brexit The Brexit secretary has insisted most sectors of the UK economy will not require transitional arrangements after the UK leaves the EU, as the proposed deal with Brussels should erase the need for them. “Our overarching offer, as it were, of a comprehensive free trade arrangement will actually remove the need for transition in some areas,” David Davis said as he fielded MPs’ questions this morning. “Not in the highly regulated ones…but in many cases it will not be necessary at all.” – City A.M. Let Britons keep freedom of movement, says European Parliament’s Brexit negotiator British citizens should be able to keep various benefits of EU membership including freedom of movement after Brexit, the European parliament’s chief negotiator has said. Guy Verhofstadt said Britons could be allowed to keep certain rights if they applied for them on an individual basis. “All British citizens today have also EU citizenship. That means a number of things: the possibility to participate in the European elections, the freedom of travel without problem inside the union.“We need to have an arrangement in which this arrangement can continue for those citizens who on an individual basis are requesting it.” – The Guardian Mervyn King tells EU not to interfere with UK’s immigration policy Former Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has told the Government it needs to get on with announcing an immigration policy and not include it in any negotiations with the EU. In a dramatic intervention, Lord King has also said that the UK needs to get out of the EU completely including the single market and the customs union and there is very little to negotiate in an exit deal. In a swipe at Remoaners he said that it was more important for the EU to make a trade deal with the UK than for the British government because of Britain’s huge trade deficit with the other 27 economies. – Daily Express Mervyn King says Britain should break all ties with EU – The Sun UK customs will fight €2 billion fraud claim British customs said on Wednesday they would challenge calculations by the EU’s anti-fraud office that found €2 billion-worth of lost duties on Chinese merchandise. “This is not a bill, it is OLAF’s estimate of evaded duty, and not one that is recognized by our experts who will be challenging OLAF on their calculations,” Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs said. – Politico Luxembourg’s PM pours scorn on May’s Brexit vision and drops Article 50 bombshell Luxembourg’s Prime Minister today poured scorn on Theresa May’s grand plan for a ‘global Britain’ saying Article 50 can be reversed if UK voters decide they “love” the EU too much to leave. Xavier Bettel said his British counterpart had the “wrong idea” if she thought new relationships with the rest of the world could make up for EU membership but hinted European leaders are still open to welcoming the UK back into the fold. At a summit of liberal leaders from across the continent he insisted the British will not be allowed to “have their cake and eat it” over single market access and free movement and described the decision to hold a referendum as a “mistake”. – Daily Express Britons can still reverse Brexit after Article 50 and say ‘we love you’ to EU, Luxembourg PM says – Independent Poland reacts with fury to re-election of Donald Tusk Tusk, a former Polish prime minister, was re-elected on Thursday with overwhelming support to lead the council, the body that organises EU leaders’ meetings, for a second term lasting two and a half years… He overcame strong resistance from his own government, led by the Eurosceptic Law and Justice party (PiS). The outcome was never in doubt, but is a blow for the Warsaw government, which responded with fury. “We know now that it [the EU] is a union under Berlin’s diktat,” the Polish foreign minister, Witold Waszczykowski, told Polish media, echoing persistent claims by PiS that the EU is controlled by Berlin. – The Guardian Shanker Singham: Openness will be key in winning the best WTO deal Britain is a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in its own right, despite our membership of the EU. But we do not have our own schedules of concessions: instead, we are currently part of the EU’s. So what will happen after Brexit? Much has been made of the difficulties that Britain will face in the WTO “rectification” process, which is a necessary precursor to Britain trading as an independent sovereign nation in charge of its own trade policy. All sorts of nightmarish visions have been thrown up of countries blocking the adoption of Britain’s schedules in the WTO, and the UK being caught in some sort of trade policy no man’s land. As is the case for most of the reporting of Brexit, specific issues are falsely viewed in isolation, as if they have no impact on each other. – Shanker Singham for the Daily Telegraph Digby Jones: Prioritise Commonwealth trade post Brexit – it’s what UK businesses want The UK’s vote to leave the EU presents British businesses, large and small, with significant export opportunities with the rest of the world – and in particular with Commonwealth countries. In fact, UK businesses are calling for much closer ties and the government must listen. Polling commissioned by The Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) and PLMR asked UK business leaders which Commonwealth nations the government should prioritise as the most important trading partners post-Brexit. They emphatically backed greater Commonwealth engagement. Australia is the number one priority country with 90 per cent of firms, followed jointly by Canada and Singapore with 82 per cent. – Lord Jones of Birmingham for City A.M. Adam Boulton: Why British prime ministers won’t miss going to EU Council summits This week’s European Council marks the last time a British prime minister is attending an EU summit with fellow political leaders as a full member. By the end of the month the UK will have one foot irrevocably out of the door because Theresa May has promised to trigger Article 50 beginning the formal exit process by then. UK leaders won’t miss these summits – from Harold Wilson onward every prime minister has found them an irritation and has usually rushed away at the earliest opportunity. This is because European Councils represent the best and worst of what is now known as the European Union. – Adam Boulton for Sky News Carl Chambers: A hard Brexit will be best for Yorkshire business During the referendum campaign, I argued that the best way for us to leave the EU was via a transitional route, retaining our involvement in the European Economic Area through membership of the European Free Trade Association – what was referred to as the ‘Norway Option’ – while we negotiated our future relationship with the EU. But I have now come to the conclusion that the Prime Minister was right in her Lancaster House speech. We must leave the single market and customs union – the only way we can bring back full control of our borders, laws, money and trade is through a clean break. – Carl Chambers for the Yorkshire Post Michael Gove MP: Is Theresa May our first Catholic prime minister? The PM’s outlook on life is very close to Catholic social thought – but may not be what we need post-Brexit. Britain’s path to preeminence in the past followed our break with Catholicism and embrace of the Reformation. We pursued a global, maritime, buccaneering, individualistic, liberal destiny — the spirit of our capitalism was infused with a very Protestant ethic. Now that we are once more freeing ourselves from a conformist Continent to make our own way in the world the question of whether we need to be more radical to maximise opportunities or more cautious to reassure and protect is central to our politics. – Michael Gove MP for The Times Joseph Hackett: The Lib Dems should drop their cynical anti-Brexit crusade The Lib Dems have placed themselves firmly at the forefront of the anti-Brexit movement. They hope to cream off voters of all political stripes who want to ignore or overturn the Referendum result, and keep us in the EU. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Corbynite or a Cameroon – if you hate Brexit, you’re welcome in the Lib Dems’ big tent…Needless to say, this disregard for the democratic will of the people is not what you would expect from a party which calls itself the Liberal Democrats. Even for those who disagree with Brexit, true democrats would at least support the will of the people being carried out.” – Joseph Hackett for Reaction Brexit comment in brief City prepares to fight its next battle over Brexit – Ben Wright for the Daily Telegraph Brexit is our future, the Lords is not – Matthew Ellery for The Commentator The House of Lords: like an 80s reunion from beyond the grave – Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian The SNP’s economic analysis of Brexit is not worth a hill of beans – William Ross for ThinkScotland Brexit may end in a whimper, not a bang – Philip Collins for The Times (£) Brexit news in brief The £1.5bn cost of delivering Brexit was hidden deep in the Budget small print – The Sun Clegg admits EU bound for destruction – Daily Express JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon says Brexit job moves all about serving clients – City A.M.