Britain is prepared to pay up to £36 billion to the EU to settle the so-called Brexit divorce bill, The Telegraph can reveal.

Senior Whitehall officials have concluded that such an offer - the first time a precise figure has been proposed - is the only way to break the current deadlock in negotiations.

However, the UK will only agree to pay the sum - equivalent to €40 billion - it if the EU agrees to negotiate the financial settlement as part of a deal on future relations, including a trade deal.

Three separate sources in Whitehall and government with knowledge of the UK’s negotiating strategy confirmed the figure, dismissing previous reports that Theresa May would agree to a £50bn bill as “too high”.