Britain’s €60bn exit bill could disrupt EU talks

Arguments about the potential €60bn bill that the UK may owe the EU as it prepares to quit the Union could eat into the time left for the UK to strike a new trade deal, a leading economist has warned.

UK economist Ruth Gregory at Capital Economics in London said the dispute over the outstanding bill which the EU’s negotiator Michel Barnier has estimated at €60bn means that Britain could face paying €24.5bn- €72.8bn to the EU.

Making payments over a number of years could also prove politically “unpalatable” to Prime Minister Theresa May’s government, the economist has warned.