LONDON, England (AP) — Exposing the uncertainties unleashed by Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, the UK minister in charge of negotiating the divorce said yesterday that most EU citizens in Britain when it leaves the bloc will be able to stay — but some might have to leave.

Brexit Secretary David Davis dismissed suggestions that the estimated three million EU nationals now living in Britain might be forced to leave, telling

Sky News that, “I want to see a generous settlement for the people here already. They didn’t seek this circumstance — we did.”

But he said if a surge of new immigrants trying to “beat the deadline” floods into Britain before it leaves the EU, the Conservative Government may have to set a cut-off date.

“We may have to say that the right to indefinite leave to remain protection only applies before a certain date,” Davis said in a separate interview with the

Mail on Sunday newspaper. “You have to make those judgements on reality, not speculation.”

A desire to reduce immigration from other EU nations was a key reason many Britons voted last month to leave the EU. Under the bloc’s rules, EU nationals can move feely among member states, and Britain has seen its population swelled by hundreds of thousands of new arrivals in recent years.