British citizens living in EU say Theresa May has 'sold them down the river' for deal

Brits in Europe worry their rights are being forgotten in the rush to Brexit

Demonstrators hold EU flags as they enter Parliament Square (Getty)

British citizens living in Europe have accused Theresa May of having “sold 4.5 million people down the river” by ditching citizens’ rights in a bid to secure sufficient progress.

British in Europe, a coalition of groups representing the 1.2 million Brits abroad whose lives will be affected by Brexit said the deal Ms May had secured was “even worse than expected” for their rights.

Meanwhile 3million, which represents EU citizens living in the UK, said it had “grave concerns for the future” following the announcement today.

With the emphasis squarely on the Northern Ireland border for the final two weeks of the first phase of talks, the campaigners are now worried that citizens’ rights – which was supposed to be one of the three main separation issues – will be “buried” under discussion of trade deals.

They are concerned that issues such as whether British citizens already in Europe will be able to cross borders to go to work will be forgotten, leading to uncertainty and disruption for British immigrants on the continent.

The concerns were echoed by Guy Verhofstadt the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator. Though the top liberal MEP said he welcomed the deal as a whole, he said that free movement for British citizens in the EU had to be guaranteed, that EU citizens in Britain should face no costs to stay, and that rights to live with future partners or spouses needed to be taken into account.

If these conditions weren’t met the European Parliament would veto the deal, he said.

“This deal is even worse than we expected. After 18 months of wrangling the UK and EU have sold 4.5 million people down the river in a grubby bargain that will have a severe impact on ordinary people’s ability to live their lives as we do now,” said Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe.

“This is a double disaster for British people living in Europe. At the moment, not only is it unclear whether we keep our automatic residency rights, but it looks like we can also kiss goodbye to continuing free movement beyond any agreed transition period – which so many of us who work across Europe rely on to support our families’.

“The UK wasted a precious opportunity to take up the EU’s comprehensive offer on citizens’ rights back in June. Instead, they decided to link the status of EU nationals in the UK to immigration, which resulted in the subsequent horse trading and significantly worse status that we all may face now.

“Looking ahead to Phase Two of the talks – if it takes 18 months to produce something this bad then imagine what’s going to happen once citizens’ rights get buried under all the trade arguments about airline slots and fish carcasses.

“We urge the European Parliament not to endorse this deal when they vote on it next week in Strasbourg.”

Nicolas Hatton, founder of EU immigrant group 3million said: “Although it’s a relief that there is now an agreement between the EU and the UK after 18 months, the quality of the deal must be assessed and we have grave concerns for the future as the EU has given the British Government the green light to implement settled status.”

On citizens rights Britain and the EU have agreed a reciprocal deal that will apply to both sides.

The PM has agreed that EU courts will recognise European Court of Justice judgements for eight years when deciding citizenship issues, and agreed that a range of relatives will be able to move out and join their families if they’re already living in the EU.

Benefits and healthcare for these citizens will also continue as under current rules, and people settled in Britain will be able to leave for five years and be allowed to return