Theresa May pens begging letter to EU migrants saying Britain will be 'poorer' if they leave after Brexit
Get politics updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email
Theresa May has penned an open letter begging EU migrants to stay in the UK after Brexit .
Writing on Facebook, the Prime Minister said she knows the country would be "poorer" if the three million EU citizens left.
Mrs May has long faced criticism over her unwillingness to guarantee the rights of EU citizens until a later stage in the negotiations.
Many accused her of using the rights of settled migrants from Europe as "bargaining chips."
But today she wrote: "I greatly value the depth of the contributions you make - enriching every part of our economy, our society, our culture and our national life. I know our country would be poorer if you left and I want you to stay."
And she said that the deal she agreed with Brussels counterparts on Friday would enshrine the rights of EU citizens in British law.
"When we leave the European Union, you will have your rights written into UK law," she wrote. "This will be done through the Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill which we will bring forward after we have completed negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement itself."
(Image: REUTERS)
She admitted that "where appropriate", British courts would pay "due regard" to the decisions of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) - and that for eight years our courts could ask the ECJ for interpretation when British law is unclear.
Migrants who have been in the country for five years will be eligible for "settled status", and close family members - including "existing spouses, unmarried partners, children, dependent parents and grandparents, as well as children born or adopted outside of the UK" - will be able to join them in the UK.
And pensions, healthcare and other benefits will remain the same as they are today.
(Image: Theresa May / Twitter)
The letter concluded: "I have spent many hours discussing these issues with all of the other 27 EU leaders over the last eighteen months as well as with President Juncker, President Tusk and the EU’s Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier.
"I am confident that when the European Council meets later this week it will agree to proceed on this basis. And I will do everything I can to ensure that we do.
"So right now, you do not have to do anything at all. You can look forward, safe in the knowledge that there is now a detailed agreement on the table in which the UK and the EU have set out how we intend to preserve your rights – as well as the rights of UK nationals living in EU countries. For we have ensured that these negotiations put people first. That is what I promised to do and that is what I will continue to do at every stage of this process.
"I wish you and all your families a great Christmas and a very happy New Year."