By James Simons-
Boris Johnson has made a spectacular U turn over the vexing issue of Britain’s alleged EU bill.
The Foreign Secretary has in past times been very critical of the claim by EU chiefs that Britain has a hefty multi-billion bill to pay the EU in the event of the UK’s departure from the European Union.
The issue of the divorce bill has been very divisive among Mp’s, with some Brexit supporters demanding that the UK decline to pay a penny. Johnson last month described the demand for €100bn (£92bn) as extortionate. In an interview with the BBC Radio 4 programme, he made a dramatic u turn by conceding that Britain will have to honour its legal obligations. He said:
“Some of the sums that I’ve seen seemed to be very high and, of course, we will meet our obligations,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “We are law-abiding, bill-paying people. The UK has contributed hundreds of billions over the years.On Friday, the foreign secretary said he did not “recognize” that figure, but added: “We will certainly have to meet our obligations”.
“I’m not saying that I accept [EU chief Brexit negotiator, Michel] Barnier’s interpretation of what our obligations are. But I’m certainly saying that we have to meet our legal obligations as we understand them and that’s what you’d expect the British government to do.”
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In response to questions relating to his comments last month, Johnson said: “I think I was being asked then about some very large sums of money, I think 100bn euros or pounds, that the EU commission suggested we were on the hook for. That’s not a figure I recognize.”
However, the Foreign Secretary declined to say what figure he would consider fair. This same question was put to to the government by the eye of media.com early this month, but we got no response. Silence over the amount considered correct leads to a fair conclusion that the UK government may be evading the real issue , and calls for a candid discussion about this.
EU chiefs have repeatedly insisted that Britain pay its huge debt before any constructive talks over trade deals can proceed. Mr.Johnson’s comments today will heap more pressure on the UK government to specify the figure it believes is correct for the bill and state when the government will be prepared to make the payment. Johnson’s sudden U turn raises questions as to what has inspired him to suddenly come out like this, and what the next official statement regarding the controversial bill will be.
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