May 'blocked Cameron's bid to guarantee EU citizens' rights'
The explosive claim comes in an Evening Standard editorial - the paper edited by former chancellor George Osborne.
Saturday 24 June 2017 04:13, UK
Theresa May blocked an attempt by David Cameron after the Brexit vote to unilaterally guarantee that EU nationals living in Britain could stay, it has been claimed.
The explosive claim was made in an Evening Standard editorial, the newspaper edited by former chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked by Mrs May when she came into office.
When asked by Sky's Faisal Islam whether this was true, the PM said: "That's certainly not my recollection."
The article said the entire Cabinet at the time agreed EU citizens should be assured of their rights to remain, without getting similar guarantees for Britons living on the continent.
But the newspaper said Mrs May, who was Home Secretary at the time, "insisted on blocking it".
"Last June, in the days immediately after the referendum, David Cameron wanted to reassure EU citizens they would be allowed to stay," the editorial said.
"All his Cabinet agreed with that unilateral offer, except his Home Secretary, Mrs May, who insisted on blocking it. A vote in the Commons earlier this year was only carried with a nod and a wink to Tory MPs behind the scenes that she didn't really mean it.
"Since then, the Government has lost its majority and it seems likely that an opposition motion to grant EU citizens the right to remain unilaterally could be carried."
This latest political intervention from the former chancellor will come as an unwelcome development for the PM, who is in Brussels to sell her offer on EU citizens' rights -
The offer is conditional on British expats in Europe being afforded the same rights.
The Standard's editorial said the PM should instead guarantee EU citizens' rights without getting any assurances on expats, because her current stance is "an act of self-interest dressed up as a gesture of international generosity".
Doing so would "almost certainly" force European countries to do the same.
Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said the revelation "shows how cold and heartless" Mrs May is.
He said: "Now that mean-spirited decision is coming back to haunt her as we see an exodus of skilled EU workers, from nurses to academics.
"Simply setting out vague assurances without giving a clear guarantee or sufficient resources for the Home Office is not good enough.
"People who have made their lives here shouldn't have to face a bureaucratic nightmare to apply to stay, or see their applications arbitrarily rejected.
"We urgently need a new, streamlined process that gives all EU nationals who have made the UK their home an easy route to permanent residency."