An influential group of pro-Brexit Tory MPs is insisting the UK legally does not owe the EU a penny on exit.

The Conservative European Research Group (ERG), which numbers around 100 MPs, is backing a new report that claims the EU will in fact owe Britain £9.3bn after Brexit.

Known for organising their efforts via a WhatsApp group, the ERG is thought to have helped shape the Government's approach to Brexit since the EU referendum.

The analysis of Britain's possible financial settlement with the EU, by Dover MP Charlie Elphicke and EU law specialist Martin Howe QC, states there is a "powerful" legal case for the UK to depart the bloc without paying anything.

It argues member states must have known there was a chance Britain could quit the EU when they agreed budgets lasting until 2020 - because ex-prime minister David Cameron had already announced his plan for an in-out EU referendum before the current Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) was agreed in 2014.


As part of the Brexit negotiations, the EU is insisting Britain meet its existing spending commitments as part of a divorce bill, with Brussels demanding a reported total of €100bn (£91bn).

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The report suggests this demand is "devoid of merit as a matter of international law" and also sets out a "compelling" argument for the UK to receive a share of EU assets on exit, including a €10.2bn (£9.3bn) payout from the European Investment Bank.

It argues the EU cannot demand Britain continues to pay for items such as Brussels officials' pensions unless it concedes there are EU assets the UK is entitled to.

However, the document - which focuses on the EU's headline demands but admits there could be other UK liabilities - does concedes there would be "value" in making some form of exit payment to "speed things along".

Mr Elphicke, an ERG officer, said: "The EU is trying to blackmail Britain into handing over billions of pounds.

"Yet this detailed analysis shows that legally we owe the EU nothing. In fact, it turns out they owe us €10bn.

"The Government should stand firm and not be blackmailed into a multi-billion pound divorce bill."

Image: Tory MP Charlie Elphicke claimed the EU is trying to 'blackmail' Britain

Fellow Tory MP Suella Fernandes, the ERG's chair and also Parliamentary Private Secretary to Treasury ministers, hailed an "impressive piece of work" that exposes the EU's "weak" claims.

Mr Howe, a member of the pro-Brexit Lawyers for Britain group, said: "In law, we will owe no money at all to the EU when we leave, with some small items being more than cancelled out by the value of the UK's shareholding in the European Investment Bank."

The ERG's intervention comes amid an impasse between the UK and EU over the Brexit bill, with the latest round of negotiations offering no sign of agreement.

Brussels has insisted the UK makes "sufficient progress" on its financial settlement - as well as the Irish border issue and rights of EU citizens in Britain - before talks can move on to discussions over the future EU-UK trade relationship.

The Government recently dismissed claims Theresa May has secretly agreed a Brexit bill of up to £50bn.