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| Budget 2017: Philip Hammond announces extra £3bn for Brexit preparations over the next two years | Budget 2017: Philip Hammond announces extra £3bn for Brexit preparations over the next two years |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that an extra £3bn will be set aside for Brexit preparations over the next two years to allow for "every possible outcome". | Chancellor Philip Hammond has announced that an extra £3bn will be set aside for Brexit preparations over the next two years to allow for "every possible outcome". |
| Mr Hammond kicked off the Budget with a major spending pledge for the EU withdrawal process, saying he "stands ready to allocate further sums if and when needed" to ensure the UK was ready for Brexit. | |
| The pro-EU Chancellor has been a focal point for anger from pro-Brexit Tories over his reluctance to spend millions of pounds preparing for the event that Britain walks away with no deal from the EU. | |
| Speaking as he delivered his make-or-break Budget, Mr Hammond said: "While we work to achieve this deep and special partnership we are determined to male sure the country is prepared for every possible outcome. | |
| "We have already invested almost £700 million in Brexit preparations and today I am setting aside over the next two years another £3 billion and I stand ready to allocate further sums if and when needed. | |
| "No one should doubt our resolve." | |
| Brexit negotiations are approaching a "critical phase" and the best way to provide security for business and families was to make progress on trade talks, he said. | |
| The Chancellor's promise to spend billions preparing for Brexit will go down well with hardline Eurosceptics, who have been gunning for Mr Hammond over his reluctance to set aside cash in case Britain walks away from a bad deal. | |
| It comes ahead of crunch talks in Brussels, where the UK Government has urged EU leaders to move on to post-Brexit trade discussions. |