May is accused by Tory rival of using EU citizens as '

Labour will tomorrow force MPs to vote on the status of EU citizens facing an 'uncertain' future' after Theresa May (pictured leaving today's Cabinet meeting) refused to give any guarantees

MPs will be forced to vote on the status of three million EU citizens living in the UK tomorrow as pressure grows on the Government to reassure Europeans after last month's Brexit vote.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today condemned the Government's refusal to guarantee the rights of EU migrants as 'disgraceful' and 'completely disgusting'.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire said yesterday it would be 'unwise' to give immediate assurance to EU nationals already in Britain.

And Theresa May, the front-runner to replace David Cameron as Prime Minister in September, is reluctant to make any promises because it would remove a key leverage over protecting 1.2million British expats living in other EU member states.

But the issue has become a key point of debate in the Tory leadership race, with Mrs May's main rival Andrea Leadsom hitting out at her for using EU citizens as 'bargaining chips'.

Labour will put pressure on Tory MPs to choose sides over the issue tomorrow when they use an Opposition Day debate to call on the Government to 'end the uncertainty for EU nationals'.

Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham accused Mrs May of 'alarming' EU citizens by saying she intends to use EU nationals living in the UK as part of the Brexit 'negotiations' and saying 'nobody necessarily stays anywhere forever'.

However the outcome of tomorrow's vote will not be legally-binding and will be largely symbolic.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Mr Burnham said today it was 'essential the Home Secretary puts her leadership campaign on hold and comes to the House' to listen to the millions of people worried about the future and remove the uncertainty now'.

A furious Mrs Sturgeon attempted to intensify pressure on the Government to do the 'humane thing to do' by offering official reassurance to EU citizens immediately.

'I think it is disgraceful. I think it is completely disgusting that you've got a candidate for prime minster who seems to think that human beings are bargaining chips,' she told Channel 4 News.

'People who have come to Scotland to other parts of the United Kingdom have built lives here. They've raised family here, got jobs here, have paid taxes here.

'These are human beings with real lives and the uncertainty and the fear that any of them face right now could be ended at a stroke if we had all the candidates for prime minister simply say that the right to remain here is not in question and I call again upon Theresa May and on the current prime minster to do that.

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (pictured today) condemned the Government's refusal to guarantee the rights of EU migrants as 'disgraceful' and 'completely disgusting'

A furious Nicola Sturgeon (pictured with the Queen, left today on the fifth day of her visit to Scotland) attempted to intensify pressure on the Government to do the 'humane thing to do' by offering official reassurance to EU citizens immediately

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (pictured meeting the Queen at The Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh on the fourth day of her official visit yesterday) today condemned the Government's refusal to guarantee the rights of EU migrants as 'disgraceful' and 'completely disgusting'

'That would be the humane thing to do and I even at this stage hope that that's a direction they will take.'

Mrs Sturgeon added: 'This is about sending a very strong message that Scotland does want to stay in the European Union and we're an open country, a good place to live, work, study and to do business and it's really important as we take forward what will be challenging work ahead of us, that we send those messages.

'Those messages have been made much more difficult by the result of this referendum but nevertheless as First Minister it's absolutely vital that I get that message about Scotland across.'

Meanwhile embassies said today they had seen a 'wave of interest' in passport and citizenship inquiries during the week after Britain voted to leave the European Union.

Polish, Italian and Canadian embassies reported increased levels of interest since the Brexit side claimed victory, while Ireland's Post Offices ran out of passports after a surge in demand.

Poland's embassy in London said its consulate had received at least 200 emails and 600 phone calls regarding Polish citizenship and passports in the six days after the referendum vote, mainly from people with Polish origins.

Immigration minister James Brokenshire (pictured) said yesterday it would be 'unwise' to give immediate assurance to EU nationals already in Britain

A spokeswoman said: 'There is a wave of interest in getting Polish passports.

'Normally monthly we get around 10 emails and calls regarding this issue. After the referendum, since last Friday, they have had around 250 inquiries daily.'

These requests were mainly from British citizens with Polish heritage but also from married couples where one spouse was Polish, especially when the pair had children, she said.

Italy's embassy said its two consulates in London and Edinburgh had received at least 500 emails about obtaining Polish citizenship since Friday June 24, the majority of them from British nationals with Italian ancestry who specified the Brexit vote as motivation.

'They are applying because they have the right to, but this is the thing that pushed them,' a spokesman said.

This was a 'huge increase' from the norm, he said, adding that the consulates received 446 emails requesting citizenship following marriage in the first six months of 2016.

The Canadian embassy said there was a 325 per cent increase in UK users accessing its Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website on June 24 - the day after millions went to the polls to cast their votes.

The weekend saw a 75 per cent increase in traffic, and visits were up 60 per cent on Monday to Wednesday compared to the average daily traffic from the previous week.

Numbers have since been slowly tailing off, suggesting the initial spike was triggered by uncertainty in the immediate aftermath of the referendum vote.

Visits to the website could be for purposes other than emigration, the embassy noted.

Meanwhile, Ireland's Department of Foreign Affairs had to appeal for calm after Post Offices ran out of Irish passport applications in the wake of the referendum result.

Dublin's Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan warned an 'unnecessary surge' was threatening to have a significant impact on the passport service and could hit those who urgently need one.

Calls have been made to open Irish passport offices in Belfast and Londonderry so that Northern Irish citizens, 56 per cent of whom voted to remain in the EU, can apply.

The US embassy said it was too early to tell if Brexit would have an impact on citizenship applications, while other embassies did not respond to the Press Association's requests.