A Labour MP has expressed his concern that towns in Wales could suffer substantial job losses to pay for the Brexit divorce bill.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC, Geraint Davies, the Labour MP for Swansea West, said that two projects in Swansea and the Welsh Valleys, which could provide his region with hundreds of jobs, may be sacrificed to pay for the £50 billion exit bill.
He told The World This Weekend that these projects will be cancelled because Theresa May and Philip Hammond have committed the Government to paying the £50 billion fee in order to ensure the UK leaves the European Union (EU).
Mr. Davies said the Government will cut Welsh funding because they cannot afford to pay the sum.
The price they will have to pay to leave the EU
Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood weighed into the debate, accusing the Government of betraying Welsh voters who overwhelmingly voted for Brexit to take back control. She said reducing the amount of government investment in Wales is the price they will have to pay to leave the EU.
This news comes as Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson sparked Conservative infighting by publishing his Brexit vision in The Daily Telegraph, outlining that he would not pay the settlement fee.
Swansea West and the Welsh Valleys was the only area in the UK that met the criteria for EU funding as it is one of the poorest places in Europe.
Many people did not believe the funding made a significant difference to their communities
Laura McAllister, professor of public policy at Cardiff University, said that Welsh voters did not make the wrong choice in June last year. She said that Wales receives £680 million a year from Brussels, but many people did not believe the funding made a significant difference to their communities.
The Cardiff University professor attacked the EU for wasting the money on statues and vanity projects, thereby angering people who experience extreme poverty and homelessness.
Over the weekend, Mr. Johnson was forced to deny that he is challenging the Prime Minister by outlining his own post-Brexit vision for Britain. Allies to the Foreign Secretary said he was laying out what needs to be done to ensure leaving the EU runs smoothly, adding he believes Theresa May is the right person to complete the job.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson tweeted that the piece he wrote was poor timing when terrorist attacks had taken place earlier in the week.
Will Tanner, a former adviser to Mrs May, called the article "disloyal." Specifying the claim that the former Mayor of London would provide the NHS with £350 million a week, he tweeted that whilst the Prime Minister had just raised the terror threat, the guy who intends to replace her pledges to provide the health service with extra money.
Sir Craig Oliver, former director of communications at Downing Street for David Cameron, told LBC Radio Boris's article would be viewed as a direct challenge to the Tory leader.
She accused the former Mayor of London of back-seat driving, but said she expected nothing less from him
With the Foreign Secretary's refusal to pay the settlement fee causing a stir in the Cabinet, Home Secretary Amber Rudd appeared on The Andrew Marr Show yesterday to play down the idea that Mr. Johnson was challenging the Prime Minister with a leadership bid. She accused the former Mayor of London of back-seat driving, but said she expected nothing less from him.
Mr. Marr quizzed her on comments she made about Mr. Johnson in the past, like when Ms Rudd said he is the life and soul of the party, but not someone she would want to catch a taxi home with. She replied that she does not want him managing the Brexit process.
She stressed her confidence that the Cabinet and the Government supports Theresa May and insisted once the UK leaves the trading bloc, Britain will aim to form friendships with European nations and other countries like America.
During the EU Referendum last year, 62 per cent of Swansea and the Welsh Valleys' electors voted for Brexit.