May tells EU citizens they should

● Prime Minister ‘delighted’ that rights of three million would be protected under European Union deal on ‘divorce’ issues

more guarantees were needed and that existing rights must be protected in perpetuity.

It came as Mrs May told MPS that Britain’s offer for its divorce bill with the EU will be off the table if the UK does not agree a future partnership with Brussels.

The Prime Minister told the Commons that the offer, which she said was likely to be between £35 billion and £39 billion, had been made “in the context of us agreeing the partnership for the future”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said the government had only “scraped through” the first phase of talks, and challenged Mrs May to drop plans to write the date of Brexit into legislation, which opposition parties say will close off the UK’S negotiating options.

Mrs May told MPS: “This is good news for the people who voted Leave, who were worried that we were so bogged down in the negotiations, torturous negotiations, it was never going to happen.

“It’s good news for people who voted Remain, who were worried we were going to crash out without a deal.

“We are going to leave, but we’re going to do so in a smooth and orderly way, securing a new, deep and special partnership with our friends, while taking back control of our borders, money and laws once again.”

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford warned that the next phase of talks “will be significantly tougher” and said all governments across the UK should be “fully involved”.

Mr Blackford called on the Prime Minister to keep the UK in the single market and customs union, warning that “to do otherwise would risk jobs, living standards, people’s incomes and workers’ rights.”

In her letter to EU nationals, Mrs May said she was “proud” that the EU citizens choose to live in the UK, adding: “I greatly value the depth of the contributions you make – enriching every part of our economy, our society, our culture and our national life.”

She said the rights of EU nationals would be written into UK law through a Withdrawal Agreement and Implementation Bill which would be brought forward “after we have completed negotiations on the Withdrawal Agreement itself ”.

They will then be enforced by the domestic courts with oversight from the European Court of Justice, whose authority UK judges can consult over rights disputes for eight years after withdrawal.

And from the second half of next year there will be a “transparent, smooth and streamlined” process to apply for settled status that will cost no more than a passport, which is £72.50 for a standard adult version.

Mrs May went on: “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.”

At the weekly meeting of cabinet Mrs May thanked Brexit Secretary David Davis and his officials for their work in the first phase of Brexit negotiations.

Cabinet ministers, who have yet to discuss the type of post-brexit relationship the government wants to have with the EU, will hold talks on the UK’S “end state” at their next meeting in a week’s time.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, gives details of the Brexit phase