Joanna Cherry QC MP for Edinburgh South West warned the Prime Minister today at Prime Minister’s Questions. She told Theresa May that EU nationals are at risk of becoming the next Windrush generation under the Tory government’s approach to immigration and Brexit.

Raising the case of her Polish constituent who has lived in Scotland since the age of six, but has now been told by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that he has no right to live or work here – she said the department were unable to outline why.

Despite having been a recipient of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) during a previous period of unemployment in 2014/2015, he has now been refused JSA having failed the habitual residency test.

The letter sent by the DWP confirms receipt of his passport and recent payslips showing ‘meaningful work’ and confirms his previous JSA claim. When raised with DWP staff, the department’s helpline was unable to set out why the claim had been denied.

Ms Cherry who is also the SNP’s Westminster spokesperson for Justice and Home Affairs, said: “EU nationals make a very valuable contribution to Scottish society, however the Tory government’s hostile approach to immigration is now targeting those very same citizens who have lived, worked and contributed to Scotland for most of their lives.

“My Polish constituent is 20 years old and he has lived in Scotland since the age of six, yet when he applied for Jobseeker’s Allowance last month he failed his habitual residency test. Even the DWP helpline can’t understand the Kafkaesque letter he was sent.

“The contempt with which the Tories have treated our fellow EU nationals is nothing short of shameful. Just like the Windrush generation, is this the shape of things to come for EU citizens in the UK under this Tory government?”

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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.