Britain will be forced to hand £15billion to Brussels this year even if we leave without a deal tomorrow

BRITAIN will be forced to hand a massive £15billion to Brussels this year even if we crash out of the EU without a deal tomorrow, it is claimed.

It would mean British taxpayers giving money towards European Union projects – such as in science or nuclear power - without the country being able to benefit from them, MPs say.

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And the final sum would be decided by the other EU countries after we left, meaning the Government had no say in the discussions.

A new report by the EU Scrutiny Committee fumes: “If the Withdrawal Agreement is definitively rejected by the House of Commons, but the Government nevertheless accepts the EU’s offer, a full gross contribution of nearly £15 billion would be due in 2019.

“The Treasury should not take the approval by the House of Commons for any further contributions to the EU for granted, if the UK leaves the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement in place.”

It will anger Leave voters who were told in the referendum campaign three years ago that Brexit would mean a £350m a week boost for the NHS.

And a House of Lords report claimed that the UK would have no legal obligation to pay the £39bn “divorce bill” agreed in last year’s Withdrawal Agreement.

But Chancellor Philip Hammond has promised that we will pay our dues even if there is a no-deal Brexit, which could come as early as Friday.

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He wrote: “In the unlikely event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal, the Withdrawal Agreement would not apply, but the Government has always been clear that the UK has obligations to the EU that will survive the UK’s withdrawal – and that these would need to be resolved.

“The UK is a nation that honours its obligations, and we will honour the commitments we made during our membership. Such obligations could be settled either through a negotiated settlement or could be settled through the courts.”

Sir Bill Cash, the veteran Eurosceptic who chairs the scrutiny committee, told The Sun on Wednesday night: “This is all part of the massive problems caused by the UK’s woeful negotiations.”

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