British travellers will be guaranteed free health cover when they are on holiday in the EU.
The disclosure came from Brexit secretary David Davis as the government prepared to publish its detailed Brexit negotiating position on migrants’ rights.
He will ask the EU to continue with the current European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme, and said that if Brussels refuses, the government will foot the £155 million a year bill.
Davis gave fresh details of what will be in a 15-page document sent to the EU today setting out the UK’s position on migrant rights, which will form the basis for head-to-head negotiations over the coming weeks.
Speaking on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, Davis said: “We’re looking to see if we can get a continuation of the EHIC scheme as it now exists and, of course, if we can’t get one then we would provide one unilaterally.”
Whitehall sources confirmed that if the EHIC scheme was scrapped, a new arrangement would begin on the day Britain leaves the EU so that travellers “won’t notice any difference”.
Critics suggested that Mr Davis had damaged his negotiating hand by admitting that Britain would pay for travellers’ health insurance if the EU did not keep the EHIC scheme.
He said EU citizens will have to undergo criminal record checks when they apply for “settled status” that will allow them to remain in Britain for life and promised to deport anyone who is considered undesirable.
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