Alberto Costa, Conservative MP for South Leicestershire, born in Scotland to Italian immigrant parents, achieved the near impossible by uniting the House of Commons on one particular Brexit issue in the face of bitter divisions. Mr. Costa relentlessly lobbied both the Remainers and Brexitiers from the Conservative and the Labour party to enshrine and protect the rights of EU citizens living in the UK and UK citizens living in Europe.
The amendment Mr. Costa proposed calls for the Prime Minister "to seek at the earliest opportunity a joint UK-EU commitment to adopt the part of the withdrawal agreement securing the rights of EU citizens in the UK and the British nationals settled in the EU, whatever the outcome of the Bruit negotiations". Mrs. May appears to have assumed an entrenched attitude to immigration with scant concern, other than the numbers, as to the position of the individuals who wish to live in the UK.
Mr. Costa's success has come at a price, he was obliged to resign as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) to David Mundle the Scotland secretary in the Scottish office due to a rule that a PPS cannot amend their own party's policy when it is in government; however strange it appears to be sacking someone whose amendment has full cross-party support, including up to 60 Tory backbenchers. The Financial Times reported that Mrs. May's spokesman "shrugged off" the suggestion that Mr. Costa should be immediately re-instated given that the government did not oppose his amendment and that there had recently more opposition had been witnessed from government ministers.
The situation touched on the farcical when the Home Secretary. Sajid Javid, seemed to be wrong footed by SNP MP Stuart McDonald when he asked the Home Secretary whether the government was now supporting them following the Home Secretary's statement that the government would be supporting Mrs. Costa's amendments. Mr. Javid asked what Mr. McDonald meant and questioned when he heard the government was not supporting them, to be told that Mr. McDonald had heard the information the previous day from the prime minister. A perplexed Mr. Javid replied that he was perfectly happy with the amendments, stating that what Mr. Costa was doing was perfectly correct.
The immigration and citizenship lawyers at Giambrone are working to overcome the impact of Brexit on UK citizens with an Italian connection by assisting in the acquisition of Italian citizenship, as well as assisting businesses from both the EU and the UK to mitigate the potential loss of business and additional costs by a series of strategies such as relocating their head office; merging or acquiring a business in the country in which the company wishes to do business in and advising on the government's policies and parameters that they have placed UK businesses seeking to employ EU citizens wishing to live and work in the UK.
A Downing Street spokesman commented in a damage limitation statement that Mr. Costa had not been sacked, he had resigned due to the longstanding convention that members on the government payroll do not table amendments to government bills. Further commenting that it was "absolutely wrong to say that the prime minister signalled at any stage that the government would oppose the amendments"
Mr. Costa just appears to be pleased that his amendment has been adopted.
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