EU demands UK coughs up £270mn of taxpayer cash for coronavirus fund

The European Commission has said the UK remains fully liable to contribute to and to benefit from the EU’s coronavirus support fund and as such are demanding that the UK taxpayer coughs up £270million towards it.

Johnson has so far refused to pay the specified sum of money and has asked for the bill to be scaled back.

The argument over the payment could put the ongoing post-Brexit trade talks at risk.

The coronavirus fund was set up to help member countries respond to the pandemic.

The British government has argued that around two-thirds of what the EU is asking for is outside what was agreed in the Brexit deal.

A spokesperson for the UK Treasury said: “The UK is supporting the EU's efforts to tackle coronavirus, and we'll meet our obligations through the Financial Settlement.

"But we do not intend to go beyond what we have agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement, because we have now left the EU."