The Government should guarantee EU citizens right to remain

I was delighted to show my support for a mass lobby of Parliament organised by the 3million.org.uk, UNISON and New Europeans in support of EU citizens right to stay in the country after Brexit.

I was proud to sign a pledge to call on Theresa May to guarantee unilaterally the rights of EU citizens living in the UK.

The fact that the fate of EU citizens currently in the UK is still unresolved is a mark of shame. There's rightly been an international outcry about the actions of Donald Trump in refusing entry to citizens of other countries. In the UK we should not be turning on foreigners in our midst. In Hackney many people have contacted me fearful for their future. A number of these local citizens have lived in the UK for a decade or more, worked and paid tax and brought up families. It is not acceptable that people should be living in limbo and this is a decision that the Government could make today.

I asked the Government to guarantee the future of EU citizens before the triggering article 50, and supported a number of amendments on this and many other issues.

Due to the short amount of time available for debate, only one amendment on EU citizens was selected for debate, which the Government defeated.