LONDON – A spokesperson for the prime minister Theresa May has accused the BBC of “misleading” the public about the size of Britain’s Brexit divorce bill.

The BBC, along with other outlets, reported UK and EU sources confirming that Britain had agreed a financial settlement with the EU of around £50 billion when it leaves in March 2019.

While not outright denying the figure this afternoon, Downing Street suggested the reports were “speculation” and “misleading” and may need to be corrected at a later date.

“The negotiation is ongoing and we have never commented on speculation, of which there is much,” a spokesperson for May told a press briefing in parliament.

They added: “I am confident that if the BBC have ended up misleading the public with any of this speculation then I’m sure they would want to put the record straight.”

On whether Britain had agreed a final bill, they insisted that “nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.”