EU summit: David Cameron vows to stop 'unacceptable' EU budget increase So we are going to be negotiating very hard for a good deal for Britain's taxpayers, for Europe's taxpayers, and to keep the British rebate. Prime Minister David Cameron speaks with journalists as he arrives for the EU summit at the EU Council building in Brussels (AP) The Prime Minister has promised to fight "incredibly hard" to protect the rebate worth £3 billion a year to the UK, which was negotiated by Margaret Thatcher to compensate for France's large farming subsidies. He is under intense pressure to get a good settlement or veto the whole deal, as dozens of his own Conservative MPs believe the EU should be spending less. Bernard Jenkin, a senior backbench Tory, today said the EU budget is the "one of the biggest scandals of public life" as it is open to fraud and bad management. He told BBC Radio 4's Today Programme that Britain should not be giving any extra cash when the EU's accounts have not been signed off "for 17 years on the trot." Mr Jenkin also claimed many other countries are threatening to veto the talks and the Prime Minister should not be afraid to walk away. Mr Cameron has said he ideally wants to see the EU budget cut but will push for the more realistic position of a freeze in the budget in line with inflation. He will have to fight proposals from the EU for an increase in spending of up to five per cent at the same time as protecting Britain's rebate. British officials have said that Mr van Rompuy's compromise deal to cut the rebate could mean that UK taxpayers end up contributing up to £6 billion more to the EU, even if its overall budget falls. Nick Clegg, the deputy Prime Minister, said Mr Cameron's position will be "tough but realistic" and most of the public will think it is "perfectly reasonable" for the EU to tighten its belt. The EU leaders are trying to agree a seven-year budget starting in 2014 but the negotiations could drag on into next year if no deal can be agreed. Last night Grant Shapps, the Tory Party chairman said increases in Britain's contributions to the European Union would be "unacceptable," a Cabinet minister has said. Mr Shapps said Mr Cameron intended to "freeze, if not cut" Britain's payments to the EU. In a BBC interview, he suggested the Prime Minister will pursue a deal that reverses Mr Blair's changes and enlarges the rebate. Downing Street declined to repeat Mr Shapps's promise of a reduction in EU payments. The rebate, worth £3.2billion a year, reflects the fact that Britain receives much less in farm subsidies than France.