PORTUGUESE Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva urged the EU to maintain trade and defence links to Britain following Brexit in an interview on Thursday night.

“We want a trade and economic agreement with the UK that is as intense, as robust, as possible,” the Socialist Party minister said.

“We want the UK as the protagonist of security in Europe, like it is today,” he added. “We can’t play around with these very important issues.”

Mr Santos said the future status of Portuguese and other EU states’ citizens living in Britain could be settled before the withdrawal talks begin.

“We have to find an agreement that ensures maximum possible free circulation within the limits that the British authorities want to establish,” he said.

Portugal’s left-wing coalition government, elected in 2015, includes the Communist Party of Portugal, which wants Lisbon out of the euro currency and the EU.