Sébastien Lecornu suggests more curfews could be introduced to quell unrest after weekend protests

Meanwhile, the EU’s trade commissioner Maroš Šefčovič said the bloc’s relationship with the UK is of “vital importance in the current geopolitical, security and economic context,” as he set out the bloc’s expectations ahead of next month’s EU-UK summit on 20 November.

Speaking at the European parliament in Strasbourg minutes after holding a phone call with UK’s Europe minister Hamish Falconer, he said the EU had three priorities for any talks with London.