If he becomes the next prime minister Boris Johnson has promised to “retain” the £39 billion Brexit bill unless and until the EU agrees “greater clarity” about the future EU-UK trading relationship.
This is a return to the position advocated previously by other leading Brexiteers, including two former Brexit secretaries, David Davis and Dominic Raab, but it is a position that has never actually held in the negotiation process itself.
But – both legally and politically – could the UK really withhold its cash until it gets the deal it wants?
Does Britain have a legal obligation to pay?
The short answer is that nobody knows – or nobody can be certain – until the question is tested in the courts,…
