Prime Minister David Cameron wriggled and writhed in the Commons yesterday as he conceded that Britain will pay a shock EU bill — but not by the deadline.

The Tory leader came under fire from all sides for his failure to anticipate a £1.7 billion surcharge that he claimed had only come to light last week.

He declared the scale and deadline for the demand after a recalculation by the European Commission to be “completely unacceptable,” but evaded calls from his own back benches to refuse the bill outright.