Brexit divorce bill will surpass £39bn, warns Whitehall watchdog.

The chancellor Philip Hammond, this week at a banquet for Commonwealth heads. He faces questions over the National Audit Office report on the inflated Brexit bill. Photograph: Nils Jorgensen/Rex/Shutterstock

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.

By Rajeev Syal.

Full story at Yahoo News.