Dispute amount to pay Britain in recession (4)
I believe the answer is:
beef
'dispute' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'amount to pay britain in recession' is the wordplay.
'amount to pay' becomes 'fee'.
'britain' becomes 'B' (common abbreviation as in GB).
'in recession' is a reversal indicator.
'fee'+'b'='feeb'
'feeb' written backwards gives 'BEEF'.
(Other definitions for beef that I've seen before include "gripe" , "it's unacceptable for vegetarian" , "Strength - grievance" , "Muscle; meat; grievance" , "Complaint; strength" .)