'Island should separate from UK more to protect rights'
JERSEY, Guernsey and the Isle of Man should consider more independence from the UK to ensure that their citizens' rights are secured post-Brexit, an international human rights lawyer has said.
London-based Susie Alegre, who has written a report on the impact of Brexit on the Crown Dependencies for the House of Lords, said that the islands should 'not necessarily' go fully independent but should look at greater separation from the UK.
Her comments come as political support for the protection of national interests has grown across the world, resulting in unexpected election results such as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump as US president.
'People, like I have, lived and worked and studied in EU with no problem, but after Brexit people are not going to have the opportunities which I had,' she said.
'There are concerns around EU citizenship. At the moment if you are an EU citizen you have the same rights as a national citizen of each of the member states.
'So, if member states give free higher education then you will have access to it. It is very difficult to say whether that will be the case in the future, but it certainly will not be the same situation as it is now.'
The UK currently represents the Crown Dependencies in many areas of international relations, such as trade in goods, and is due to negotiate on the islands' behalf during Brexit.
But Ms Alegre said she believed that the dependencies' interests would be considered a low priority by the UK.
