ANDREW Smith has backed a campaign calling on the Government to give people from other European Union countries the right to stay in the UK after Brexit.

The Oxford East MP said the issue needed to be resolved 'as a matter of humanity', saying it was making foreign workers across the city 'anxious'.

Mr Smith met with constituents who visited Parliament on Monday and signed a pledge to call on Prime Minister Theresa May to 'guarantee unilaterally the rights of EU citizens living in the UK'.

The status of EU nationals after Brexit has been a controversial issue, with some senior government ministers suggesting it should be used as a bargaining chip in Brexit negotiations.

Mr Smith called for the issue to be settled as soon as possible.

He said: "I was pleased to meet constituents who came on the lobby of Parliament to press for confirmation of the right to remain of EU citizens ahead of Brexit. 

"There are thousands of EU workers and their families in Oxford, many working in health and social care, education and research and the BMW Mini plant, who are anxious about their future. 

"The present application 85-page form for permanent residence is a bureaucratic nightmare, and the Home Office really can’t cope. 

"I fully support EU residents’ case, have been pressing the government on this, and will continue to do so. 

"This really does need to be settled as a matter of humanity, and as a matter of urgency, as does the situation of UK residents in other EU countries."

"The welfare and plans of all these people mustn’t get sucked into the trade-offs of the Brexit negotiations.”