The UK may be forced to wait 30 years to get its money back from the EU’s bank after Brexit and could be on the hook for £30billion if “things go sour”, a senior European official has claimed.

Alexander Stubb, vice president of the European Investment Bank, said he believed Britain would get back £3billion of the money it has paid in since 1973 but that cash would not be repaid in full until 2054.

He also suggested that the bank believes the UK could have to hand over billions of pounds in the future if investment projects it has helped fund fail.

Meanwhile, Mr Stubb also rejected a suggestion made by the European Union Committee of the House of Lords earlier this year that the bank may owe the UK £9billion.

The UK has a 16 per cent share in the bank which funds projects across the bloc but it is due to leave after Brexit because only EU states are allowed to be a member.