The UK National Audit Office (NAO), in its latest review report, warned that the Brexit divorce bill figure could be higher than GBP 35-39 billion (bn) estimated by the UK PM Theresa May.

Key Highlights:

Brexit divorce bill will exceed GBP 39bn

UK could pay an extra GBP 3bn more in budget contributions.

As well as an additional GBP 2.9bn to the European Development Fund.

Auditors have concluded that the Treasury's estimate includes GBP 7.2bn of receipts which will go directly to the private sector and not to the government's accounts.</s>The UK's divorce bill with the EU could be much higher than the £35 billion to £39 billion estimated by the Treasury, it has emerged.

The National Audit Office, the official spending watchdog, said the Treasury's estimate was "a reasonable calculation".

But it also warned the eventual financial settlement could be higher, saying: "HM Treasury has based its estimate on a number of assumptions".

In a new report, the National Audit Office highlighted a series of ways the cost could be increased.

The UK could pay up to £3 billion more in budget contributions after its withdrawal than the Treasury estimates

This could happen if UK payments before we leave the EU in March 2019 are lower than expected.

There will also be a £2.9 billion payment to the European Development Fund.

This is a fund used by the EU to provide support to African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The UK has said it will honour its commitments to the fund, but this money wasn't included in the Treasury figures because the fund established under the EU treaties and sits outside the EU budget

There is an extra £7.2 billion cost to the Treasury

The Government's estimate is the net figure. That means it includes money that will be paid to the EU, but also takes into account money that the EU pays to the UK.

However, £7.2 billion in EU funding will go directly to the private sector. If we ignore this and just look at what the Treasury pays, it's £7.2 billion higher than the figure the Treasury has given.

There is more money the UK is liable for, but probably won't have to pay

The Treasury forecasts that the UK’s share of total outstanding contingent liabilities will be €14 billion as at the date of withdrawal. Additionally, the UK will provide a guarantee worth €35.7 billion to the European Investment Bank.

The chances of the UK ever having to pay this money are "remote" but not impossible.

Amyas Morse, the head of the National Audit Office, said: " We have reviewed the Treasury’s estimate of how much the UK will pay the EU under the draft withdrawal agreement.

"The estimate reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35 billion to £39 billion. But overall we think it is a reasonable estimate."

Theresa May faces a challenge from senior backbench MPs including Conservatives, who are to propose a motion to the House of Commons calling on the UK to stay in an "effective customs union" with the EU after Brexit.

The Government opposes remaining in a customs union, saying it would make it impossible for the UK to sign its own trade deals.

Labour has said it supports a continued customs union with the EU., although it wants to negotiate a new customs union rather than sticking to the existing arrangements.

Chairs of House of Commons Select Committees will present a motion to the Commons which "calls on the Government to include as an objective in negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union the establishment of an effective customs union between the two territories."

It will be proposed by MPs including former Conservative Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, Chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, Conservative backbencher Sarah Wollaston, chair of the Commons Health Committee, and Conservative former Attorney General Dominic Greive, chair of the Intelligent and Security Committee.

Labour MPs including Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Committee, are also supporting the motion. Other Committee chairs backing it include Labour's Hilary Benn, Liberal Democrat Norman Lamb and SNP MP Pete Wishart.

In a joint statement, Ms Cooper and Ms Morgan said: "‘With just six months to go before the Brexit deal needs to be concluded, we are running out of time for Parliament to help to shape the negotiations.

"Yet many of our backbench committees have forensically gathered evidence on different Brexit options and the practical implications."

They added: "We both believe the case for a customs union is overwhelming - for the sake of British manufacturing, international trade, smooth borders and Northern Ireland peace.

"If Parliament stays silent until after the deal is done, that is just a recipe for conflict and regret later on. Far better for us to debate this properly now and let Parliamentarians express their view before it is too late."</s>Billy is the editor of Verdict. You can reach him at billy.bambrough@verdict.co.uk

The final cost to the UK of leaving the European Union could nudge £40 billion, above the £35 billion to £39 billion so-called Brexit bill suggested by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.

However, the total Brexit bill remains unclear due to uncertainty surrounding the future, according to a report by the UK spending watchdog, the National Audit Office (NAO).

While the NAO said the Brexit bill could run above the expected range, it’s unlikely to be much above — it found the range put forward by the government was ‘a reasonable estimate’.

The UK’s pension liabilities to the EU, the amount UK organisations will receive in EU funding after withdrawal, and exchange rate fluctuations all mean the final bill is still unknown.

The UK will leave the EU trading bloc in March 2019, however, it is seeking a transition period up to the end of 2020.

What was said

Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said in a statement:

We have reviewed the Treasury’s estimate of how much the UK will pay the EU under the draft withdrawal agreement. The estimate reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35 billion to £39 billion. But overall we think it is a reasonable estimate. As the vote on the draft withdrawal agreement approaches we expect that government will provide a substantial amount of material for Parliament to consider. We will support Parliament in this scrutiny by providing independent assurance.

Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the public accounts committee, told the Guardian there could well be an increase in the overall costs.

We have always been clear that we will honour commitments made while being part of the EU, and we have negotiated a settlement that is fair to UK taxpayers and means we will not pay for any additional EU spending beyond what we signed up to as a member. The NAO has confirmed that our estimated figure is a reasonable calculation, and we are now discussing our future relationship.

Boris Johnson’s claim that the EU can ‘go whistle’ over a divorce bill looks, even by his standards, to be a piece of particularly bilious buffoonery. The NAO have confirmed the cost of divorce, whilst likely to be in the government’s stated range of £35 billion to £39 billion, could be higher.

The findings will likely anger UK Eurosceptics who have previously questioned the government’s spending commitments to the EU after the country leaves, as they claim that there is no legal obligation to pay anything.

The UK’s chancellor Philip Hammond will be questioned about the NAO’s conclusions next Wednesday when he appears before the Treasury select committee.</s>In a sign of Tories divisions over the crucial Brexit issue, senior MPs from the party Nicky Morgan, Sarah Wollaston, Robert Neill and Dominic Grieve backed the cross-party motion last night. The move follows two Government defeats over the flagship EU Withdrawal Bill in the House of Lords earlier this week. But Downing Street insisted the move would not wreck the Prime Minister's Brexit plans. "Our position remains unchanged - we are leaving the customs union," a Number 10 spokesman said. Although the outcome of any vote will not be binding on the Government, it is expected to be a crucial show of parliamentary strength by pro-Brussels Tories ahead of future debates on Brexit legislation.

Some Tory MPs expect the party's whips to try to take the heat out of the clash by advising backbenchers to stay away from the debate. A joint statement from Ms Morgan, a former Cabinet minister, and senior Labour MP Yvette Cooper said: "We both believe the case for a customs union is overwhelming - for the sake of British manufacturing, international trade, smooth borders and Northern Ireland peace. "If Parliament stays silent until after the deal is done, that is just a recipe for conflict and regret later on. "Far better for us to debate this properly now and let Parliamentarians express their view before it is too late." The motion "calls on the Government to include as an objective in negotiations on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union the establishment of an effective customs union between the two territories".

Next week's Commons vote was announced as a report suggested the EU exit bill for British taxpayers could soar by billions of pounds more than the figure of up to £39billion previously suggested by the Government. The report from the National Audit Office found a number of factors including the timescale of payments and exchange-rate fluctuations left the final bill uncertain. Former Tory Cabinet minister Priti Patel said: “The publication of the NAO report has highlighted some risks that the Government needs to take action to address and shown that the EU could manipulate their budgets and negotiations to squeeze more out of UK taxpayers. "Ministers must make sure the EU cannot force the financial settlement to be higher and should be working to lower it as much as possible. "We’ve already paid hundreds of billions of ponds into the EU and the British taxpayer has had enough of the EU ripping us off.”

The NAO report said: "Relatively small changes to some assumptions about future events could push the cost outside of HM Treasury's £35 billion to £39 billion range." Due to EU financial rules the UK could have to pay up to £3 billion more in budget contributions after formal withdrawal in March 2019 than the Treasury estimates in order to offset earlier payments being lower, the NAO said. The UK could have to pay towards other costs, which are not in the Government estimate, such as potential liabilities that could depend on future events, and Britain will also provide a guarantee worth 35.7 billion euro to the European Investment Bank. The UK will also pay £2.9 billion to the UK European Development Fund for overseas aid which is not featured in the exit settlement estimate because the fund was not established under EU treaties. Sir Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The estimate reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35 billion to £39 billion. But overall we think it is a reasonable estimate.</s>The U.K’s Brexit payments to the European Union could exceed the 39 billion-pound ($55 billion) ceiling of the Treasury’s estimate, the government auditor said, reviving discussion about one of the most controversial elements of December’s divorce agreement.

Prime Minister Theresa May at the end of last year reached agreement with her 27 EU counterparts on the draft terms of an exit deal, that included payments from Britain to EU coffers totaling 35 to 39 billion pounds.

The Brexit bill, though unpalatable to the most ardent Brexit supporters in May’s Conservatives, was presented as a U.K. victory, because figures as high as 100 billion euros ($124 billion) had been cited during the talks.

But the final tally may yet exceed the government estimate because it’s based on Treasury assumptions, according to a report by the National Audit Office. Small changes to any of those assumptions -- which include exchange rates and Britain’s economic performance -- may lead the final bill to fall outside the stated range, it said, without providing a fresh estimate.

The government’s spending adviser, the Office for Budget Responsibility, last month estimated that final payments -- stretching as far as 2064 -- will total 37.1 billion pounds.

The office said that while the Treasury’s estimate was “reasonable,” a number of factors could lead the final bill to differ. They include:
• Changes in the exchange rate, because the final bill is payable in euros. The Treasury used a rate of 1.13 euros to the pound for its estimate
• Differences in Britain’s economic performance. The U.K. will pay as normal into the EU budget in 2019 and 2020, even as it officially departs the bloc. The value of those payments will vary according to how the U.K. economy performs in relation to the rest of the EU
• Economic performance will over the next two years will also affect Britain’s share of EU liabilities after 2020
• Estimates of future pension liabilities for EU officials are based on assumptions on mortality rates and future salary increases, all of which may turn out differently
• The EU can request up to five months of budget payments in the first three months of a calendar year, and Treasury assumptions are based on this happening in the first quarter of 2019, leading up to the scheduled Brexit day of March 29. If it doesn’t happen, that means extra payments of as much as 3 billion pounds will be made after Brexit, technically increasing the post-departure bill
• U.K. commitments to the European Development Fund are expected to cost 2.9 billion pounds after Brexit. But they’re not included in the total for the bill, because the fund is not established under EU treaties</s>The full cost of the UK’s Brexit divorce bill remains uncertain and could differ from the £35-39 billion figure put forward by the Government, financial watchdogs have said.

While the National Audit Office (NAO) described the estimate as “reasonable” it stressed the sum was based on a number of assumptions about what will happen in the future.

The total cost of the exit settlement cannot be defined until there is more certainty in areas like UK economic performance in 2019 and 2020, the cost of pension liabilities, how much British organisations will continue to receive in EU funding after withdrawal, and exchange rate fluctuations as the divorce bill will be paid in euros, according to the study.

The report states: “Relatively small changes to some assumptions about future events could push the cost outside of HM Treasury’s £35 billion to £39 billion range.”

How much the UK contributes to the EU annual budgets in 2019 and 2020 will be calculated on the basis of the UK’s future economic outlook, which will also partly determine Britain’s share of outstanding commitments and liabilities after 2020, the report states.

Due to EU financial rules the UK could have to pay up to £3 billion more in budget contributions after formal withdrawal in March 2019 than the Treasury estimates in order to offset earlier payments being lower, the NAO said.

The UK could have to pay towards other costs, which are not in the Government estimate, such as potential liabilities that could depend on future events, and Britain will also provide a guarantee worth 35.7 billion euro to the European Investment Bank.

However, the NAO report said the Treasury and EU “consider the risk of these liabilities crystallising to be remote.”

The UK will also pay £2.9 billion to the UK European Development Fund for overseas aid which is not featured in the exit settlement estimate because the fund was not established under EU treaties.

Britain’s contribution to the EU pension scheme may last until 2064 unless the Government decides to pay off its commitments earlier in a lump sum which would present “risks and opportunities to the total value the UK may be liable to pay”.

The NAO states: “The terms of the settlement, which mark 31 December 2020 as a key date for determining the UK’s share of liabilities, mean the EU Commission could skew future decisions and impact the total value the UK will have to pay back.”

Britain is seeking a transition period between officially exiting the EU in March 2019 and the end of 2020.

The Government is dependent on information it receives from the EU to calculate the final settlement, but can appoint auditors to review such figures, the NAO said.

The watchdog called on the Government to consider “how it will update Parliament with revised estimates as new information becomes available”.

Head of the NAO, Sir Amyas Morse, said: “The estimate reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35 billion to £39 billion. But overall we think it is a reasonable estimate.

“As the vote on the draft withdrawal agreement approaches we expect that Government will provide a substantial amount of material for Parliament to consider.”

Chairwoman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, Meg Hillier, said: “The Government’s divorce bill estimate of between £35 billion to £39 billion is exactly that, an estimate.

“Whereas the promises made by some Brexiteers of the bounty that our public services would receive post-Brexit are likely to be downgraded, I fear the cost of the UK leaving the EU could increase further.

“Our children and grandchildren risk being saddled with paying off this bill for decades to come.

“As negotiations continue and the real costs of the divorce bill come to light, the Government must be clear with the British public what we are paying for and why. If not, taxpayers will feel we are being sold a raw deal.”

Nicky Morgan, chairwoman of the Commons Treasury Committee which asked the NAO to look at the issue, said: “It has judged that the Government’s estimate of the UK’s withdrawal payment to the EU is “reasonable”, but it appears to be shrouded in uncertainty.

“As the report states, the Treasury didn’t incorporate some of the main uncertainties – of which it was aware – in its figure. For example, the settlement estimate doesn’t include the UK’s commitments to the European Development Fund, which the Treasury expects will cost £2.9 billion after the UK leaves the EU.”

A Government spokesman said: “We have always been clear that we will honour commitments made while being part of the EU, and we have negotiated a settlement that is fair to UK taxpayers and means we will not pay for any additional EU spending beyond what we signed up to as a member.

“The NAO has confirmed that our estimated figure is a reasonable calculation and we are now discussing our future relationship.”</s>The total cost of the Brexit "divorce" bill remains uncertain, auditors say, as much depends on future events.

The National Audit Office said the £35bn-£39bn range put forward by the government was "a reasonable estimate".

But even "relatively small changes" to things such as inflation, the exchange rate and the UK's future economic performance could push it up or down.

The government said the settlement would be "fair to UK taxpayers" and would honour commitments made.

The UK is due to leave the European Union at the end of March 2019 - but a "transitional" period is expected to last until 31 December 2020, during which most of the current trade arrangements would continue.

It has agreed to continue to pay into the EU's annual budget until December 2020, and to cover a share of outstanding commitments and liabilities at that date.

The largest liability - the pension scheme for EU officials - is likely to mean payments continuing until at least 2064, although about 60% of the financial settlement is expected to be paid by the end of 2021.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has set out what he calls a "reasonable central estimate" of the settlement's value as falling between £35bn and £39bn - although no final figure is mentioned in the joint report agreed by the UK and EU in December.

But the National Audit Office said it was not possible to define the total cost "until there is greater certainty around future events".
• The exchange rate - the final settlement will be paid in euros and the Treasury's estimate was based on the exchange rate in place when the agreement was reached, in December 2017
• The UK's future economic performance - how much the UK pays into the EU budget in 2019 and 2020 is calculated on its economic performance compared with that of other member states. Those contributions also partly determine how much the UK will pay towards outstanding liabilities and commitments after 2020
• How much the UK will have to pay into the EU pension pot is also based on assumptions about life-expectancy, salary increases and valuation estimates

"Relatively small changes to some of these assumptions would cause HM Treasury's central estimate to be outside its £35bn to £39bn range," the report says.

The NAO adds that some costs are not included in the estimate - such as a commitment to the European Development Fund, expected to cost £2.9bn, because it was not established under EU treaties.

However, the estimate does include about £7.2bn of funds to be paid out by the EU to the UK that will actually go straight to the private sector, not government accounts.

The report says the "vast majority" of financial commitments will be paid by 2026 and the UK will receive its share of paid-in capital in the European Investment Bank - worth £3.1bn - in 12 annual instalments from 2019.

Head of the NAO Amyas Morse said the Treasury's estimate "reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35bn to £39bn".

But he added: "Overall we think it is a reasonable estimate."

A government spokesman said: "We have always been clear that we will honour commitments made while being part of the EU, and we have negotiated a settlement that is fair to UK taxpayers and means we will not pay for any additional EU spending beyond what we signed up to as a member.

"The NAO has confirmed that our estimated figure is a reasonable calculation, and we are now discussing our future relationship."

Lib Dem Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said: "Boris Johnson's claim that the EU can 'go whistle' over a divorce bill looks, even by his standards, to be a piece of particularly bilious buffoonery.

"The NAO have confirmed the cost of divorce, whilst likely to be in the government's stated range of £35bn to £39bn, could be higher."</s>Are there still people out there who believe that the UK will be better off leaving the European Union? I only ask, because if so then clearly they have not been paying attention. Either that or they are Brexiteers filling some of top Cabinet jobs who feel obliged to defend the many lies that were told during the referendum.The latest blow to the 'better-off' myth comes in the Guardian , which reports that the cost of the Brexit divorce bill for the UK could be billions higher than the £35bn-£39bn figure put forward by Theresa May.They refer to a National Audit Office (NAO) report which has warned that the UK could pay an extra £3bn more in budget contributions as well as an additional £2.9bn to the European Development Fund. Auditors have concluded that the Treasury’s estimate includes £7.2bn of receipts which will go directly to the private sector and not to the government’s accounts:I didn't see any of that on the side of a bus in June 2016.</s>The cost of the Brexit divorce bill for the UK could be billions higher than the £35bn-£39bn figure put forward by Theresa May, a report by Whitehall’s spending watchdog suggested. 



The National Audit Office (NAO) has warned that the UK could pay an extra £3bn more in budget contributions as well as an additional £2.9bn to the European Development Fund.

Auditors have concluded that the Treasury’s estimate includes £7.2bn of receipts which will go directly to the private sector and not to the government’s accounts.

The findings will anger Eurosceptic Tory MPs who have previously questioned whether the government should pay the lower estimate of £35bn.

Philip Hammond, the chancellor, will be questioned about the NAO’s conclusions next Wednesday when he appears before the Treasury committee.

Responding to the report, Meg Hillier, the Labour chair of the public accounts committee, said there could well be an increase in the overall costs. “Whereas the promises made by some Brexiters of the bounty that our public services would receive post-Brexit are likely to be downgraded, I fear the cost of the UK leaving the EU could increase further.”

May told parliament in December that the bill would be between £35bn and £39bn, a fee jointly agreed in a meeting between the Treasury and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier.

Auditors found that the total amount that the UK would contribute to the EU annual budgets in 2019 and 2020 would be calculated on the basis of the UK’s economic outlook, which would also partly determine Britain’s share of outstanding commitments and liabilities after 2020.



Britain’s exit settlement could not be defined until there was more certainty in areas such as the economy’s performance in 2019 and 2020, auditors said.



Costs still to be worked out include those relating to pension liabilities, the amount British organisations will receive in EU funding after withdrawal and exchange rate fluctuations because the divorce bill will be paid in euros, according to the study.

“Relatively small changes to some assumptions about future events could push the cost outside of HM Treasury’s £35bn to £39bn range,” the report says.

Due to EU financial rules, the UK could have to pay up to £3bn more in budget contributions than Treasury estimates after formal withdrawal in March 2019. The UK might have to pay towards other costs, which are not in the government estimates, such as potential liabilities that could depend on future events.

The UK will also pay £2.9bn to the European Development Fund for overseas aid, which is not featured in the exit settlement estimate because the fund was not established under EU treaties.

Britain’s contribution to the EU pension scheme might last until 2064 unless the government decides to pay off its commitments earlier in a lump sum, which would present “risks and opportunities to the total value the UK may be liable to pay”.

The NAO states: “The terms of the settlement, which mark 31 December 2020 as a key date for determining the UK’s share of liabilities, mean the EU commission could skew future decisions and impact the total value the UK will have to pay back.” 



Britain is seeking a transition period between officially exiting the EU in March 2019 and the end of 2020. 



The government is dependent on information it receives from the EU to calculate the final settlement, but can appoint auditors to review such figures, according to the NAO. The government should consider “how it will update parliament with revised estimates as new information becomes available”, it said.

Sir Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said the £35bn-£39bn estimate was “reasonable” but could have been wider to reflect the many “moving parts”. He added: “As the vote on the draft withdrawal agreement approaches, we expect that government will provide a substantial amount of material for parliament to consider.”

Nicky Morgan, the chair of the Treasury select committee, said the costs would be examined further when Hammond and Morse gave evidence on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

She said: “[The NAO] has judged that the government’s estimate of the UK’s withdrawal payment to the EU is ‘reasonable’, but it appears to be shrouded in uncertainty.

“As the report states, the Treasury didn’t incorporate some of the main uncertainties – of which it was aware – in its figure. For example, the settlement estimate doesn’t include the UK’s commitments to the European Development Fund, which the Treasury expects will cost £2.9bn after the UK leaves the EU.”</s>The total amount the UK will pay in the financial settlement on leaving the EU remains uncertain and could differ to the £35 billion to £39 billion that government has estimated, says the National Audit Office (NAO).

The NAO has reviewed HM Treasury’s estimate of the cost of the financial settlement. In its report, published today, the NAO has explained that while the figure is a reasonable calculation, HM Treasury has based its estimate on a number of assumptions because future events are likely to impact the total cost.

The total cost of the settlement cannot be defined until there is greater certainty around future events such as: the UK’s economic performance in 2019 and 2020; how much EU funding UK organisations will continue to receive after the UK leaves; the future cost of the EU pension liability; and potential changes to the exchange rate, as the UK will settle its payments in euros.

Relatively small changes to some assumptions about future events could push the cost outside ofHM Treasury’s £35 billion to £39 billion range.

The NAO has identified uncertainties in HM Treasury’s estimate which will impact the final amount the UK will be liable to pay:

- The UK will pay towards the EU’s annual budgets in 2019 and 2020, as if it remained a member state, but the amount still needs to be calculated based on the UK’s future economic performance. These contributions will partly determine what share of the EU’s outstanding commitments and liabilities the UK will pay after 2020.

- Some settlement payments are expected to extend far into the future, in particular the UK’s contribution to the EU pension scheme, which may last until at least 2064. The government can choose to pay off these commitments earlier in a lump sum, however this presents risks and opportunities to the total value the UK may be liable to pay.

- The UK could have to pay towards other costs, which are not in the estimate, such as potential liabilities that may depend on future events, and a guarantee for the European Investment Bank, although HM Treasury and the EU consider the risk of these liabilities crystallising to be remote.

- The Joint Report states that the UK will honour its commitments to the EU’s overseas aid instrument, the European Development Fund (EDF), which would cost a further £2.9 billion. HM Treasury has not included this in its estimate because the EDF is not established under the EU treaties.

- The terms of the settlement, which mark 31 December 2020 as a key date for determining the UK’s share of liabilities, mean the EU Commission could skew future decisions and impact the total value the UK will have to pay back.

The estimate takes into account income the UK private sector receives from the EU directly. These receipts, worth around £7.2 billion, will not go into the government’s accounts.

The government is dependent on information it receives from the EU to calculate the final settlement. The UK government can appoint auditors to review that information. The NAO has recommended that HM Treasury carefully considers what information it needs to make accurate and informed decisions on future payments, and how it will update Parliament with revised estimates as new information becomes available.

Amyas Morse, the head of the NAO, said today:

“We have reviewed the Treasury’s estimate of how much the UK will pay the EU under the draft withdrawal agreement. The estimate reflects a number of moving parts, so the range of costs in it could have been wider than £35 billion to £39 billion. But overall we think it is a reasonable estimate.

“As the vote on the draft withdrawal agreement approaches we expect that government will provide a substantial amount of material for Parliament to consider. We will support Parliament in this scrutiny by providing independent assurance.”
The UK Audit Office rejects a Treasury estimate of the cost of leaving the European Union that was repeated by Prime Minister Theresa May. Rather than the official £35–39 billion estimate, the watchdog says that figure misleadingly included £7.2 billion earmarked directly for private hands and did not include up to £3 billion in budget contributions and £2.9 billion in European Development Fund payments.