Evening Standard/London

George Osborne yesterday defended a deal which will see Britain pay £850mn to the EU as his claims of a “real win” were branded a sham.
The chancellor faced criticism after claiming to have halved the £1.7bn bill demanded by Brussels as it emerged the reduction was achieved by bringing forward a rebate Britain was already due to receive.
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls accused him of using “smoke and mirrors” to allow him to boast of a “result for Britain”.
Other EU leaders also cast doubt on Osborne’s claims as they insisted Britain was still paying the full sum demanded by Brussels as a result of Britain’s strong economic performance.
But Osborne insisted it had not been clear that the rebate was going to be applied to the surcharge to allow the £1.7bn bill to be cut.
“It took a lot of hard discussion, a lot of hard negotiation and it shows that when this government sets out a goal in Europe it goes and achieves it,” he told the BBC.
After brokering a deal with other EU finance ministers in Brussels, Osborne said: “It was a real doubt about whether the rebate would apply, apply to the extent it has applied. We have got this bill halved.”
He added: “I don’t think we get full value for money for all those pounds that get sent to the European Union.”
Labour has claimed the deal does not save the UK “a single penny” and accused Osborne and the prime minister of “trying to take the British people for fools”.
And Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: “Osborne (is) trying to spin his way out of disaster. UK still paying full £1.7bn, his credibility is about to nose-dive.
“Borrowing what we are rightfully owed in the future to pay an unfair bill being levied now is not a victory. It’s a sham.”
The chancellor’s European counterparts also appeared to contradict the Chancellor’s account of the deal.
Irish finance minister Michael Noonan said he believed that the UK “will pay the whole amount” while Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said “it’s not as if the British have been given a discount”.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls said: “David Cameron and George Osborne are trying to take the British people for fools. Ministers have failed to get a better deal for the British taxpayer. Not a single penny has been saved for the taxpayer compared to two weeks ago when David Cameron was blustering in Brussels.
“Nobody will fall for this smoke and mirrors. The rebate was never in doubt and, in fact, was confirmed by the EU Budget Commissioner last month.”