Britain will not pay a penny to leave the European Union if there is no deal, Theresa May tells her MPs

Britain will not pay its agreed £39billion bill to leave the European Union if a trade deal cannot be agreed, Theresa May has told her MPs.

The Prime Minister said in a letter to her parliamentary party: “The Government has said that we are a country that honours its obligations, and that is what we will do.

“We have agreed a fair settlement of commitments we have made while a member of the EU, in the spirit of our future partnership.

“It depends upon a broader agreement being reached – as I have said, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed – so if there is no agreement then our offer also falls away.”

Mrs May also made clear that the final estimate – currently £35billion to £39billion – was far below the £50billion bill agreed with the European Commission.

She said: “We and the European Commission have agreed the scope and assessed what falls within it, and based on that assessment we both expect the final number to come in significantly below many of the initial projections – and far less than the ongoing contribution we would have made if the UK had decided to remain in the EU.”

Mrs May also said that any cash saved from no longer being a member of the EU will see more cash paid into the National Health Service.

The comments were an echo of the claim on the side of Vote Leave buses last year that £350million a week will be repatriated to the NHS after Brexit.

Mrs May said: “As we leave, and we pay off our commitments, this means there will be significant sums to spend on our priorities, including the NHS, which would otherwise have gone to the EU.”