Emmanuel Macron has warned Boris Johnson that Britain's economy will be downgraded and plunged into turmoil if the UK withholds the £39 billion Brexit divorce payment from Brussels, the Telegraph reports.
Mr Johnson used his first interview of the Tory leadership campaign to warn that he would "retain" the divorce bill until he got a better deal with the EU.
He said in an interview with The Sunday Times that the money would be a "great lubricant" to persuade European nations to reopen talks on the Irish backstop and the terms of a future trade deal.