Downing Street has insisted the Home Office will be able to cope when millions of EU citizens apply for “settled status” to guarantee their post-Brexit future.

Fears have been expressed that the Government could be overwhelmed when the 3.2 million EU nationals living in the UK apply for documentation to guarantee their right to remain.

But the Prime Minister’s official spokeswoman has said Theresa May is “confident” the Home Office will be able to handle the huge administrative task.

A report published by the Institute for Government in May this year warned that if immigration application processes were not simplified ahead of Brexit an additional 5,000 civil servants would need to be recruited.