Cameron: €2bn EU bill 'completely unacceptable'

"If people think I am paying that bill on 1 December, they have another thing coming," the prime minister said in Brussels. "It is not going to happen."

He said the demand was "totally unacceptable" and no way for the EU to behave - and he wanted to examine how they arrived at the amount.

EU finance ministers have agreed to the UK's request for emergency talks.

The demand from Brussels would add around a fifth to the UK's annual net EU contribution of £8.6bn.

'Lethal weapon'

Cameron said he was "downright angry" and said the British public would find the "vast" sum "totally unacceptable".

"It is an unacceptable way for this organization to work - to suddenly present a bill like this for such a vast sum of money with so little time to pay it," he said.

"It is an unacceptable way to treat a country which is one of the biggest contributors to the EU."

Cameron said his position was backed by several other European leaders, claiming his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi had described the demand as a "lethal weapon".

He said that he first heard about the EU's demands on Thursday (23 October) but acknowledged that the Treasury knew about it last week.

But addressing who had known the details first, he said "you didn't need to be an expert in Cluedo to know when you have been clubbed with the lead piping in the library".

An informal meeting of the EU finance ministers is forseen as early as next week in Venice.

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