EU leaders will be braced for a new row next week with the UK Government after it emerged David Davis will refuse to tell them how much Britain is willing to pay towards its Brexit “divorce bill”.
Sparking a fresh clash with Brussels, the Brexit Secretary will not go into any detail on the size of the payment, despite demands from his EU counterpart Michel Barnier for more clarity.
Earlier this week Barnier dismissed Davis’ plea for parallel negotiations over withdrawal terms and a future trade deal ahead of a new round of talks beginning on Monday.
The EU chief negotiator has insisted there needs to be agreement first on the financial settlement, as well as on the Irish border and citizens’ rights before trade deal talks can start.
Davis’ apparent refusal to discuss the bill in detail risks delaying the start of that second phase of negotiations, which are due to kick off in October.
“We are in the season of the Great British Bake Off, aren’t we. So we will make it clear that they have massively overegged their demands,” a source told The Guardian.
“In an ideal world they want to salami-slice us step by step by step,” they added.
“And on you go, up and up, and there is the bill. That is not going to happen and we are not going to play that game.”
Reports earlier this month suggested the UK was willing to cough up £36 billion to settle its obligations, but there has been no official confirmation of that figure. Independent experts have previously estimated the UK exit bill will be around £60bn.
Meanwhile, a report by MPs said the “poisonous tone” of the referendum campaign to leave the EU fuelled the demonisation of immigrants and created huge obstacles to social integration.
The All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Integration said migrants should be treated as “Britons-in-waiting” who are expected to eventually gain citizenship instead of being viewed as security threats.
It found newcomers are increasingly leading parallel lives and warned that anti-immigrant rhetoric is making it harder for people to become fully involved in British life.
Chuka Umunna, who chairs the APPG, said: “The demonisation of immigrants, exacerbated by the poisonous tone of the debate during the EU referendum campaign and after, shames us all and is a huge obstacle to creating a socially integrated nation.
“We must act now to safeguard our diverse communities from the peddlers of hatred and division while addressing valid concerns about the impact of immigration on public services, some of which can contribute to local tensions.
“We must start by valuing the contribution of all ethnic and minority communities to the UK. Rather than being seen as security risks, immigrants should be viewed as Britons-in-waiting, keen to participate in their community.”
In the report, the group said it would be “perfectly plausible” for ministers to introduce a regionally-led system for non-EU immigration while “continuing to subscribe to some form of freedom of movement” post-Brexit.
Race hate crimes surged in England and Wales after the EU referendum with police recording a 41 per cent spike in July last year compared to the year before.
Data from 31 police forces showed 1,546 racially or religiously aggravated offences were recorded in the two weeks up to and including the day of the referendum on June 23. But in the fortnight after the poll, the number climbed by almost half to 2,241.
The Home Office report confirmed while 3,886 hate crimes were recorded in July 2015, this jumped to 5,468 in July 2016.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel