The government has betrayed EU citizens – now a no-deal Brexit will make it worse

Editorial: Britain is letting these people down and wasting the opportunity to retain their loyalty. Now a far bigger conflict with other European countries could await the UK

Sometimes political disasters arrive out of a clear blue sky. For those, politicians might deserve a degree of sympathy as they deal with the consequences. By contrast, other catastrophes are so well-telegraphed and can be observed approaching from such a distance, the klaxon sound of warnings deadening the ears, that only the most insensitive or incompetent, or both, of politicians could fail to see the danger.

Such a figure is our new-ish home secretary, Priti Patel, whose first act in office was to airily declare that freedom of movement for EU citizens would end on 31 October – a policy so unworkable that she had to execute a U-turn on it a fortnight later. It was not a helpful episode, and the system remains confused, and especially so if the no-deal scenario actually does transpire, either on 31 October or later.

The latest warnings about this absurd state of affairs emanate from the European parliament. Using a politically charged phrase that must have been deliberately chosen, MEPs from across the political spectrum say that the British government’s various announcements about future migration rules “may exacerbate the hostile environment” towards EU citizens resident in the UK, “as well as impacting negatively on their ability to enforce their rights”.

The safety, security and rights of EU citizens in the UK, and those of their families, remain unclear. Many, including the notable Eurosceptic MEP Daniel Hannan, have cautioned that the government’s approach risks delivering a “new Windrush” scandal, on top of all of its other problems. And there are many appalling documented cases of people from what is now the EU, many of whom came to the UK years before this country even joined the then European Economic Communities in 1973, being faced with a bureaucratic nightmare even to be allowed “settled status”. It is not enough, apparently, for them to be able to produce a passport, or ID card for their own country, nor a reference to the electoral register (they can vote in local elections), nor a national insurance number or a current British driving licence.

For those who have arrived much more recently, some who may have moved house and whose English may not be as fluent, the problems involved in assembling the requisite paperwork and going through the approval process are even less straightforward. It can be a humiliating and unfathomable exercise, as well as an unjust one.

Far too many EU citizens who ask for settled status are instead being offered “pre-settled” status, which adds an unwanted uncertainty and a perceived slight to their application. Some 42 per cent receive this response, including many who have been here for decades, have built up businesses or otherwise contrived to society. Those who work in warehouses or on farms, though, have just as much right to be recognised and accommodated as, say, surgeons, academics or premier league football managers.

Britain is letting these people down, and wasting the opportunity to retain them and their loyalty. Even though the scheduled deadline for settled status doesn’t expire until 2020, that may change if, after a no-deal Brexit, negotiations about reciprocal rights become fraught. Boris Johnson has pledged to make a unilateral guarantee about rights, but the legislation is yet to become law. It might help if parliament were still sitting…

The old, routine attitude of the British government towards a hostile report from the European parliament was to safely ignore it. That, though, was in the days when the UK was a member state, and not a putative third country. If, and when, a UK-EU free trade deal or a post-Brexit withdrawal agreement does need to be ratified, it will require the assent of more than 30 parliaments and assemblies across the EU – including the European parliament. There are also 1.3 million British citizens living in Spain, France, Cyprus and elsewhere, and, under a no-deal Brexit, those retired, living, working, studying or travelling in the EU will lose rights to access a range of services. If EU citizens in the UK are treated shabbily, then some in Europe will wonder why they should behave any differently.

The answer, as the European parliament suggests, is to reverse the burden of proof, and to allow free registration for settled status, with the minimum of documentary evidence, which would only be refused or downgraded if the British authorities could prove that the case for settled status was flawed.

According to the most recent polling, attitudes in Britain towards EU migration have softened, ironically since the EU referendum. The much better informed debate about the contribution to the economy, public services and society that EU citizens make has developed and educated the wider electorate. The slow learners in this case appear to be sitting in cabinet. Time for another rethink for Ms Patel, before she repeats the mistakes that Theresa May and Amber Rudd made before her.