Agencies/London

David Cameron hit out yesterday at a Brussels demand for Britain to pay an extra £1.7bn into EU coffers — refusing to pay the money by the deadline of December 1.
After seemingly being ambushed with the bill at a Brussels summit, the prime minister interrupted a session on the economy to insist on an hour-long discussion on the “surcharges”.
He accused outgoing European Commission president José Manuel Barroso of having no idea of the impact the demand would have on UK public opinion.
A visibly furious prime minister made clear he was ready to take legal action to try to block the EU charge, which he compared with being coshed with a piece of lead piping.
He insisted that he had not heard about the £1.7bn bill until Thursday, as he prepared for a two-day summit on which it did not even feature on the agenda. Aides said the Treasury had received brief details from the European Commission a few days earlier, but the PM made clear he was not seeking to blame officials, saying it was right for them to seek to check the figures before alerting ministers.
Dismissing questions over how soon the Treasury had known as a “red herring”, he told reporters: “You can all do ‘Who knew what when?’ and all the rest of it but actually, frankly, you don’t need a Cluedo set to know that someone has been clubbed with the lead piping in the library.”
His face flushing with anger at an end-of-summit press conference, Cameron banged his fist on his lectern as he accused the commission of behaving in an “unacceptable” and “appalling” manner.
“It is an unacceptable way for this organisation to work - to suddenly present a bill like this for such a vast sum of money with so little time to pay it,” said the PM. “And it is an unacceptable way to treat one of the biggest contributors to the European Union.
“It is an appalling way to behave. I am not paying that bill on December 1. If people think I am they have got another think coming.”
Boris Johnson also attacked the move, telling the Standard: “If ever there existed a reason for fundamental reform of the EU here it is. Demands for a £1.7bn surcharge simply because Britain has outperformed other EU countries is ludicrous.
“The prime minister is right to build a consensus among our European allies against an EU bureaucracy gone mad.”
Downing Street said the request was not acceptable. Finance ministers will hold emergency talks on the payment before the December 1 deadline.
Conservative chief whip Michael Gove told Channel 4 News if the commission wants Britain to stay in EU, it is “going the wrong way about it”.
But Nigel Farage said the levy was a boost to Ukip’s chances of winning the Rochester and Strood by-election next month.
The “surcharge” — which would add almost a fifth to the UK’s annual contribution of £8.6bn — is intended to reflect Britain’s better-than-expected economic performance relative to other EU states. It comes from an EU recalculation of national incomes dating to 1995 and takes into account recent changes in the rules to include economic activities such as prostitution and illegal drugs.
Preliminary figures suggest Britain is facing by far the biggest top-up. But France would receive a rebate of £789mn, Germany £614mn and Poland £249mn.
Syed Kamall MEP, leader of the Tories in the European Parliament, claimed the timing suggested it was an attempt by Brussels to boost Ukip and stop the Tories gaining a majority next year, reducing the likelihood of a referendum on the UK’s EU membership.
A Commission spokesman said: “This is absolutely not a surcharge or a top up fee or a ‘punishment for success’ but the result of a standard statistical formula agreed by all.”
EU leaders struck a deal early today to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. The agreement requires renewable energy to provide 27 per cent of Europe’s power.
Britain’s newspapers turned on the European Union yesterday over the demand, but many questioned why furious prime minister David Cameron seemed so shocked by the claim.
“One step nearer the EU exit -- Cameron goes to war on £1.7 BILLION bill,” said the Daily Mail’s front-page headline.
Cameron has promised a referendum on Britain’s membership of the bloc if his Conservative Party wins next year’s general election, but has so far said he would campaign to stay in, albeit only after securing reforms.
The Mail said Britain had been “given a huge bill for exceeding expectations in economic recovery” while “under-performing countries such as France are set to receive millions in rebates”.
But the paper asked why Cameron had been “kept in the dark about shock demand.”
The Times warned that not paying could cost the country dear.
“Cameron defies EU over ‘wealth tax’ as costs spiral,” said its headline, adding that Brussels could levy a penalty charge of £42.5mn a month if Britain failed to pay up.
“The United Kingdom is being taxed more heavily not out of a concern for fairness but because of success,” said its leading article.
“Growth in Britain has exceeded projections in the past four years, which is not something that can be said of the dysfunctional eurozone.
Centre-right broadsheet The Daily Telegraph called the demand “shocking”.
“The idea that the Commission can produce an astronomical figure without properly explaining its origin, and give the UK just a few weeks to pay it, is quite simply outrageous.
“Britain’s courage in pursuing austerity. In the past few years the UK has done its best to put the finances in order and has achieved impressive levels of growth, while other countries squandered and slumped. How does the EU reward British prudence? By demanding more money.”
But the Financial Times criticised Cameron’s angry outburst, and said that the surcharge was reasonable.
“Cameron’s outburst on Friday - declaring himself to be “downright angry” - is disproportionate,” said its editorial.
“Last year he declared that he would campaign ‘with all my heart and soul’ for Britain to stay in the club. Today, that declaration is barely believable. Cameron looks like someone who will do anything to save his premiership and his party, whatever the cost to his country.”
Cameron is facing pressure from the eurosceptic wing of his party, which fears losing votes to the anti-EU UK Independence Party.
The centre-left Guardian also attacked Cameron’s response, and questioned how long he had known about the charge.
“Action to head off the confrontation and to draw its sting could - and should - have been taken. Yet it was not. Why?
“Either Cameron’s outrage was synthetic and cynical. Or he and his ministers and officials were asleep on the watch and let it catch them unawares. It is hard to know which is worse.”