Paul Drechsler says politicians should be ashamed citizens’ rights in UK and Europe have not been guaranteed

The former president of the Confederation of British Industry has said European leaders including Theresa May should be ashamed that they have not guaranteed the rights of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals in Europe in the event of no deal on Brexit.

Paul Drechsler said leaving more than 5 million people in limbo went against basic British and European values.

“It’s an absolute scandal, two-and-a-half years in, that citizens of Europe in the UK and UK citizens in Europe still do not have an unambiguous, unconditional guarantee they will be OK no matter what.

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“We should be ashamed of the fact that we sweep that aside,” he said, of all involved in the Brexit negotiations.

“Leaving people hanging by a thread of uncertainty is totally against British values, totally against European values,” he said.

Mr Drechsler also said it was time to bury the “lies” about immigration and to tell people it was Britain’s lack of controls – not Europe’s – that led to the influx of people from Poland and other east European states after 2004.

He also backed Theresa May’s Chequers proposal but called on the prime minister and EU leaders to drop their red lines and make a bold step to secure a deal. “Red lines are the enemy of a good deal for both parties,” he said. “History tells us when great political leaders put their minds to it, they can achieve extraordinary things.”

Drechsler said the future of EU citizens in Britain was the most important issue for businesses in London as they would be able to adapt to whatever Brexit deal is done – but would not survive without EU workers of all skills.

About 40% of staff in the hospitality sector in London are of EU origin. About a third of construction workers and 15% of those in the financial services sector are also from the continent.

Drechsler is now chairman of London First, the umbrella business group for the capital, which has called on the government to introduce a six-year visa to allow for the continued flow of workers “at minimum or above minimum wage”.

The Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, recently pledged that EU citizens would not be removed from the country if there was no Brexit deal, but he did not say what employment and social rights they would retain including the right to bring in non-EU family members.

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Drechsler said he believed Raab’s promise was genuine but said it behoved EU leaders to go much further.

“For too long we have used EU citizens and British citizens in Europe have been used as a negotiating chip. All leaders should be ashamed that two-and-a-half years on this is still going on,” he said.

“This is one of the great lies that people came in because of the lack of controls. Two-thirds who have come in the last 12 months did not come from the EU. It’s time we were honest with people about the positive role and contribution, our industry, research, tech, they make.

“The UK has totally failed to manage people into this country for ever. Every other country in Europe does, they register them on arrival, they have a process of controlling their way to get benefits. What do we do? We leave the doors open, we don’t even track people coming in and out.”

Drechsler said the business community backed Chequers, but said a deal could only be struck if that proposal was modified and both May and the EU dropped their red lines.

He rejected calls from Brexiter MPs, including ex-Brexit secretary David Davis, to pursue a Canada “plus plus” deal saying the deal was about getting two trading entities thousands of miles apart closer together whereas Brexit was a separation of two entities that had been aligned for 40 years.