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Post-Brexit hate crimes ‘shameful’, PM May tells Polish counterpart

British Prime Minister Theresa May has travelled to Warsaw in a bid to reassure the Polish government that the hundreds of thousands of Poles living in Britain still had a post-Brexit future there. About 90,000 Slovaks live and work in Britain.

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She also addressed the apparent rise in xenophobic abuse of migrants following the Brexit vote.

Following the Brexit vote, reports of attacks against Poles increased considerably.

“I fully expect and intend to be able to guarantee the rights of Polish citizens when we leave the EU”, Ms May said, but also demanded reciprocity.

“Hate crime of any kind directed against any community, race or religion has absolutely no place in British society”.

May said she retained an “open mind” about her country’s trading relationships following the decision to leave the European Union and that the ultimate solution may not necessarily be “a model that’s on the shelf already”.

Speaking in Bratislava with her Slovakian counterpart, Robert Fico, Mrs May refused to be drawn on the specific deal that could be done for Britain, amid suggestions from some of her cabinet that Britain could leave the EU customs union.

In Slovakia, Mr Fico raised the migration question at a press conference alongside Mrs May, confirming that he had urged her to consider the rights of Slovaks now living in Britain.

“On the other hand, as the country holding the presidency, we hope to make the best use of the time before triggering Article 50 to redefine the vision for Europe for the future for the remaining 27 member states to discuss our future and also to offer a vision to our citizens”.

The UK prime minister stressed, at a press conference with Mr Fico, that the UK was “not leaving Europe or withdrawing from the world”.

Slovakia and Poland have voiced concern about the rights of their nationals now in the UK. She has also had meetings with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande as her government, in office for two weeks, is trying to work out how to retain as much access as possible to the European Union market while cutting immigration from the bloc. However, he backed her to become UK Prime Minister because ‘she has the right experience and temperament for the role, ‘ he said.

Mr Fico said the “perception British voters have” of European Union migration was “slightly different to how we perceive migration on the continent”.

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Slovakia and Poland have also voiced concern about the rights of their nationals now in the United Kingdom, an issue muddied to an extent by conflicting comments made by British ministers following the referendum.

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