UK's Johnson admits UK will have to pay Brexit "divorce bill"
Comments mark climbdown over claims EU could 'go whistle' for final payout
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Friday conceded that Britain would have to pay a “divorce bill” to the European Union as part of the Brexit process.
The statement was a serious u-turn from Johnson, who had said previously that the EU could “go whistle” for any financial settlement.
EU negotiators have insisted that a final payout must be agreed before any progress is made on trade talks between the two sides.
There had been suggestions of a €100bn (£92bn) figure, but Johnson said he did not recognise the sum.
“We will certainly have to meet our obligations,” he told the BBC.
“Some of the sums that I’ve seen seemed to be very high and, of course, we will meet our obligations. We are law-abiding, bill-paying people. The UK has contributed hundreds of billions over the years.”
“I’m not saying that I accept (EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel) Barnier’s interpretation of what our obligations are. But I’m certainly saying that we have to meet our legal obligations as we understand them and that’s what you’d expect the British government to do.”