Joe Duggan (Reporter)
CAMPAIGNERS for EU and UK citizens’ rights will march in Florence to protest against Theresa May’s ‘Brexit freak show’.
The British Prime Minister is set to offer a two-year transitional deal during a key Brexit speech in the Italian city today, with protestors from campaign group New Europeans to march in the city centre.
Under May’s plan, the UK would pay the EU around €20 billion (£18 billion) over the two years ahead of a permanent trade deal.
But citizens’ rights campaigners have lashed out at the UK government’s ‘failure to give guarantees’ over maintaining current rights.
“It is we, the citizens of Europe, that need to be worried,” said Roger Castle, founder of civil rights’ campaign group New Europeans.
“We represent the mainstream but we are caught up in a freak show called Brexit.
“Whatever happens with Brexit, we need all the rights we had previously to be guaranteed for all EU citizens in the UK and British in Europe.”
British citizens based in Italy are set to attend today’s march and vigil.
Brussels has called for the 3.4 million EU citizens in the UK to have continued access to the European Court of Justice once the UK exits the single bloc.
But May is set to offer EU citizens’ rights to be written into the final withdrawal treaty and incorporated into UK law during today’s speech.
On the BBC Radio 4 Today programme this morning, Transport Secretary Chris Grayling backed the Prime Minister’s Brexit position.
“We have to make sure the rights of people that live here are properly protected in the future and we will continue to do that,” he said.
