Theresa May grabs power to remove EU citizens in ‘no deal’ Brexit EU citizens could be deported from Britain in a “no deal” scenario, according to the small print of the Government’s Brexit […]

EU citizens could be deported from Britain in a “no deal” scenario, according to the small print of the Government’s Brexit repeal bill.

If this law is passed it will allow the UK total power to “modify, limit or remove” the rights given to EU nationals under British law.

This scenario, laid out in the “explanatory notes” to the repeal bill, would come to pass if the UK and the EU cannot reach a deal on citizens’ rights.

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The UK’s current offer for EU citizens has not been received well and MEPs have demanded improvements.

‘Fair and serious’

The Prime Minister’s offer would give settled status – or the same rights as British citizens – to EU citizens living in the UK for more than five years.

Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit chief, claims the offer would make the situation worse and more uncertain for Europeans.

The text of the explanatory note “Any such obligations beyond [Brexit] would only exist if they were agreed between the EU and the UK as part of the negotiations that have recently commenced. However, without a correction, the UK’s law would still include recognition of the EU citizens’ rights. The power to deal with deficiencies can therefore modify, limit or remove the rights which domestic law presently grants to EU nationals, in circumstances where there has been no agreement and EU member states are providing no such rights to UK nationals.”

It is unlikely that any deal on trade or other continuing links could take place without citizens’ rights being agreed in advance. The new powers would only come into play if the UK leaves the European Union with no deal whatsoever – the so-called cliff-edge scenario.

However, such a scenario, while possible, is still considered unlikely. Even in such a case, the government could still choose to protect EU citizens’ rights.

Around 1.2 million British people live in other EU countries, mostly in Spain, France, Germany and Ireland.

There are just under 3 million EU citizens in the UK, led by Polish and Irish nationals.

‘Cast iron guarantee’

Opposition parties have pushed for the UK to unilaterally guarantee rights to EU citizens who were already in the UK when Article 50 was triggered in March.

Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, said EU citizens “are our society” during the election campaign and said they “should not be used as bargaining chips”.

“So on day one of a Labour government we will immediately guarantee that all EU nationals currently living in the UK will see no change in their legal status as a result of Brexit, and we will seek reciprocal rights for UK citizens in the EU,” he pledged.

The Lib Dems have called for a “cast iron guarantee” of rights, while Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s First Minister, swiftly called for a promise to Scotland’s 173,000 EU citizens after the referendum result.

Many Conservative MPs, including Michael Gove and Nicky Morgan, have also expressed support for such a policy.