WE’LL KICK OUT EU KILLERS

PM’s vow to deport the worst foreign criminals after Brexit

RAPISTS, murderers and other serious criminals from EU states face deportation after Brexit, under rules to be outlined today.

Theresa May will unveil details of a ‘generous’ offer to the 3.2million EU citizens living in the UK, designed to reassure them that their rights will not be threatened.

The majority will automatically qualify for a new ‘settled status’ once they have been in Britain five years, which will guarantee their rights to access public services for life.

But Government sources said the package would allow officials to identify ‘serious and persistent criminals’ from EU states who would then be considered for deportation.

Brexit Secretary David Davis yesterday said he did not expect anyone to be deported ‘unless they’ve committed a crime or [pose] some sort of security problem’.

Government sources said the threshold for deportation had not yet been established, but would include those convicted of serious crimes, such as rape and murder, and those deemed a potential threat.

‘We want to see people who have murdered or raped deported, and this gives us an opportunity to do it,’ the source said. ‘We will be running criminal checks against people as they seek settled status and where serious or persistent criminal offences are identified they will be considered for deportation.

‘This is an opportunity to set our own rules on who we allow to live here and we are going to take it.’ The move came as:

Mr Davis said tourists visiting the EU could be offered basic medical insurance by the Government after Brexit if current EU arrangements cannot continue;

A Panelbase survey for The Sunday Times showed 52 per cent of voters still back Leave, compared with 48 per cent Remain;

Labour’s Brexit stance was put into further doubt as Shami Chakrabarti said the party would not seek to end free movement;

Senior Tories dismissed calls from the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby for a cross-party commission on Brexit as ‘naive’;

Mr Davis warned Tory plotters to fall in behind the Prime Minister, saying a leadership contest would be ‘catastrophic’ for the hopes of negotiating a good Brexit deal.

Around 5,000 EU nationals are currently in British jails for serious offences. UK law states any person who is sentenced to more than 12 months in prison should be subject to automatic deportation.

But Brussels rules mean the law is often not applied to EU crimi- nals. The 2004 Free Movement Directive, which takes precedence, says: ‘Previous criminal convictions shall not in themselves constitute grounds for taking such measures.’ Instead the individual’s conduct must represent ‘a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat’.

The rule has allowed many criminals to avoid deportation, including Italian-born killer Learco Chindamo, whom the Home Office was unable to remove despite his conviction for murder.

UK courts, citing Brussels rules, have said an individual’s right to live where they like usually trumps the Government’s desire to kick them out. EU rules have also made it far harder to prevent criminals from Europe moving to Britain, even when their past convictions are known about.

Under the new regime, EU citizens who have lived in Britain for five years will have their records checked for criminal convictions when they apply for settled status.

Last night Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘Free movement of people involves free movement of criminals – you only have to look at the number of EU citizens clogging up our prisons to see that … I welcome the fact that David Davis is being robust about this. We don’t want these people in our country. We want them kicked out at the earliest opportunity and we need robust procedures to prevent them getting back in again.’

The plan will be included in a 15page document on citizens’ rights to be unveiled by Mrs May today.

The Prime Minister hopes it will form the basis of a reciprocal deal to protect the rights of 1.2million British citizens living in Europe.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said he was ‘pretty sure’ the UK would be able to negotiate a good exit deal, but told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that ‘no deal would be better than a punishment deal’.

‘Opportunity to set our own rules’