Britain must pay the £39 billion Brexit bill even if it leaves the EU without a deal, the European Commission has warned.

Britain agreed to pay the financial settlement to the EU, which include EU Budget payments up to 2020, to cover its liabilities to the bloc and unlock talks over the future relationship.

As it released a new set of no deal Brexit plans in Brussels on Wednesday, the commission said, "all commitments taken by the 28 Member States should be honoured by the 28 Member States."

"This is also true in a “no-deal” scenario, where the UK would be expected to continue to honour all commitments made during EU membership.”

In the European Parliament in Brussels, Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the commission, warned that a no deal Brexit was more likely after MPs voted to send Theresa May back to Brussels to renegotiate the Irish border backstop.

“The financial obligations would need to be dealt with,” a senior EU official said, “We want to avoid very disruptive and sudden consequences which would be difficult to handle.”