UK prime minister Boris Johnson has been warned by a senior Conservative MP that millions of British citizens living in Europe could sue for the loss of their rights in a no-deal Brexit.
Alberto Costa, who resigned from the frontline government earlier this year over the rights of EU citizens, wrote a letter to Johnson saying that unless he resolved the problem his government would face litigation.
He called for the PM to quickly enshrine the rights of EU citizens living in the UK into British primary legislation before 31 October 2019.
In the event of a no-deal, each member state will be responsible for deciding what rights UK citizens living in its territory will have.
“No peacetime British government has ever abrogated the rights enjoyed by over a million of its own citizens overnight,” he wrote in UK newspaper The Times. “As a former UK government lawyer, I can reasonably foresee an enormous unprecedented amount of litigation raised by British citizens.
“This would undoubtedly result in a severe challenge to the stability of your government.”
Big issues
Costa also warned that this could lead to UK citizens losing their rights to pension contributions, healthcare and even their long-term residency.
He also said that the government should, at the very least, agree to underwrite any financial losses to UK citizens abroad if rights such as access to free European healthcare were taken away from them.
As things stand in a no-deal scenario, the healthcare, pensions and residency rights of British expats in the EU would be compromised.
Jason Porter, director of financial advisory firm Blevins Franks, said: “All bets are off.
“Britons in the EU and those planning to retire there may need to invest in private health insurance and not rely on being eligible for free or subsidised local healthcare.”
Pensions and insurance
Porter added: “As the EU has repeatedly stated, ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’, so the triple-lock and payments from the UK to an EU bank account may be at risk.
“The triple-lock ensures UK state pension incomes go up at the rate of inflation, earnings or 2.5%, whichever is higher.
“With the current system, Britons retiring to a country within the EU receive annual increases to their pensions to match the triple-lock commitment but there are concerns that it would end with Brexit – and pensions being frozen.
“People living in the EU could have their UK pension and insurance policy payments deemed illegal if no Brexit deal is reached.
“If UK citizens retire to an EU country and they have an insurance-based pension, which is paid to them in the domestic bank account of the current country in which they reside, this may become illegal.”
