May tells Poles living in Britain they are welcome to stay despite Brexit

THERESA MAY has told nearly 800,000 Poles living in the UK that she “wants and expects” them to remain in the country after Brexit and condemned “shameful” post-referendum attacks.

Speaking in Warsaw yesterday, the Prime Minister spoke out against the “despi- cable” hate crimes Poles have suffered in the wake of the Brexit vote last month.

She also promised to “always” fulfil Britain’s obligations to Nato despite leaving the EU after UK troops were sent to counter the threat of Russia in Eastern Europe.

However in a challenge to Mrs May, Beata Szydlo, the Polish prime minister, said she wanted to save freedom of movement, which gives EU citizens the right to travel freely across the bloc.

The Prime Minister is under pressure from Tory Eurosceptics to deliver “hard Brexit” that would lead to EU citizens losing their right to come to the UK automatically. Mrs May met

Ms Szydlo in the latest leg of a diplomatic tour to smooth the path for Brexit negotiations. Earlier in the day Mrs May had held talks with Robert Fico, the Slovakian prime minister, where the pair also appeared to clash over limiting freedom of movement rules.

Mr Fico said the “perception British voters have” of EU migration was “slightly different to how we perceive migration on the Continent”.

During the Tory leadership contest, Mrs May faced a backlash after refusing to guarantee the rights of almost three million EU nationals.

Speaking in Warsaw, Mrs May said: “I want to be clear that Poles living in the UK continue to be welcome and we value the contribution they make to our country.

“We condemned the shameful and despicable attacks against Polish communities and others in the wake of the referendum result.

“Hate crime of any kind detected against any community, race or religion has absolutely no place in British society.

“I understand that Poles currently living in the UK want to know whether they can retain their rights once the UK leaves the EU.” Mrs May also paid tribute to Polish pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain, saying the UK would “never forget” their efforts.

She pledged to continue to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence in line with Nato commitments and promised to “stand tall in the world” alongside Britain’s allies after leaving the EU.

Earlier in the day Mr Fico urged Mrs May to think of his citizens living in the country during Brexit negotiations.

Mr Fico told journalists: “For [Britain] the issue of migration is especially the issue of migrant workers from the EU in the UK.

“I have asked the Prime Minister to dedicate a special level of attention to Slovak nationals and citizens who work currently in the UK.”

Slovakia has an enlarged role in responding to the shock of Brexit as it holds the presidency of the EU Council until the end of the year.

Mr Fico also said the EU seemed to be falling in love with itself and needed to design “a new project of mutual relations, a project that will be equally attractive both to the citizens of the United Kingdom and the European Union”.