The EU has “massively over-egged” their demands for a financial settlement for Brexit, British negotiators will tell their European opposite numbers this week.

Both sides agree that the UK and EU have financial commitments to each other that will survive Brexit but are divided over what they may be. The EU was reported to be pushing for as much €100 billion euros.

"The Great British Bake Off is on television at the moment," a source familiar with the talks said, “We will make it clear to them that they have massively over-egged the pudding."

On Monday and despite the bank holiday, the British team travel to Brussels for the third round of tense talks in combative mood.

In July, the British team interrogated European Commission negotiators “line by line” over its position on the so-called Brexit Bill. Sources said the UK was not convinced by the legal arguments put forward by the EU..

Britain will refuse to give any figure for the financial settlement and will not make any concessions on any point that could allow a sum to be calculated.

It will also resist EU efforts to draw it into agreeing some parts of the bill in a step by step approach. The bill is roughly divided into EU Budget, the UK’s money in the European Investment Bank and EU funding programmes.