The UK will not pay a 100bn-euro (£84bn) “divorce bill” to leave the EU, Brexit Secretary David Davis has said.

He told ITV's Good Morning Britain the UK would pay what was legally due, in line with its rights and obligations, but “not just what the EU wants”, reports the BBC.

It comes amid claims by the Financial Times that the settlement sought by the EU had risen sharply from 60bn euros.

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier said accounts must be “settled” and it was not a case of “punishing” the UK.

Publishing his Brexit mandate, Barnier said the EU would “put all its efforts” into reaching a deal but warned that the “clock was ticking” and negotiations must start as soon as possible after “ten months of uncertainty”.

While approaching the process in a “cool-headed and solution-oriented” manner, he said it was an illusion to think it would be concluded "quickly and painlessly" or that there would be “no material impact” on lives.

An EU source has told the BBC that officials in Brussels will not enter into a discussion about potential figures for a final bill, likely to be one of the hardest-fought and most sensitive areas of the Brexit process.

Many Conservative MPs argue the UK does not owe the EU anything given the size of the contributions it has made over the past 40 years.

BDST: 1610 HRS, MAY 3, 2017
AP