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Follow Thatcher - Boris Johnson says UK should reject any EU demands for a £50bn "exit bill"

Published: 06:11 10 Mar 2017 EST

Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson has told the BBC that Britain should reject any EU demands for a £50bn "exit bill" and follow the example of former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

It has been reported that EU negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must continue to pay into the EU until 2020.

Johnson, the UK’s foreign minister said it was "not reasonable" for the UK to "continue to make vast budget payments" once it left the EU.

Keep EU rights …

British citizens should be allowed to keep the benefits of EU membership, according to the chief Brexit negotiator at the European Parliament.

Guy Verhofstadt said allowing individuals to keep rights, such as freedom to travel and vote in European elections should be a priority.

The former Belgian prime minister said Brexit had been a "tragedy" and a "disaster" for people in the UK and EU. He also warned the European Parliament had veto powers over any deal struck.

Side-stepping …

In her last European Union summit before launching Brexit,  UK prime minister Theresa May was keener to talk about pretty much anything else.

May, who will trigger Article 50 of the EU Lisbon Treaty to launch two years of divorce talks later this month, was keen not to linger on her plans for some of the most complicated negotiations Britain has faced since World War Two.

At a meeting held in the shadow of Brexit but dominated by more immediate concerns like re-electing the EU summit chairman, May set out to show her fellow leaders that Britain was still a reliable member, despite choosing "a different path".

From Mars ...

A top executive at global food giant Mars has warned that a hard-Brexit would increase the prices of its products.

Fiona Dawson, president of global food, drinks and multi-sales at the US firm, will warn that a UK departure from the European Union without a trade deal would result in higher prices as well as jeopardising jobs.

In a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce to the European Union later on Friday, she will say the cost of trade barriers would inevitably flow through to consumers and threaten its Europe-wide supply chain.

Brexit “unfeasible” …

EU nationals living in London branded Brexit “unfeasible” and “dangerous” for the capital’s economy, the Evening Standard reported, after Pret A Manger revealed just one in 50 job applicants to its stores are British.

The coffee and  sandwiches chain could face a “major staffing crisis” when Britain leaves the EU, HR chief Andrea Wareham told a government committee this week.

Staff at the high-street chain are made up of 110 different nationalities, with 65 per cent of those from outside the UK being EU citizens, she said.

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