Theresa May has been accused of handing the EU a "blank cheque" after new laws suggested Brussels will be able to determine how much of the £39billion Brexit divorce bill the UK will pay each year.

Ministers will on Tuesday publish the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill which will enshrine Brexit divorce arrangements and any future deal with Brussels in law.

The Telegraph has learned that the document, which is more than 100 pages long, states: "The EU will inform the UK of the required payment amounts during the transition process."

David Jones, a Tory MP and former Brexit minister, said: "It would appear that they are now prepared to write a blank cheque or a series of blank cheques that the EU can continue presenting at their own discretion.

"I don't think that that will find favour with many people, not least a large number of Conservative members of Parliament. The Chequers compromise [the Prime Minister's Brexit plan] is a dodo, it's extinct, it can't fly."