French finance minister says UK welcome to rejoin the EU ‘anytime’

France’s finance minister said the UK would be welcome to return to the European Union after Andy Burnham left open the possibility of a manifesto pledge to rejoin the bloc.

Speaking to the BBC, Roland Lescure said it was up to the British public whether to return to the EU, but said they could “come back, anytime”.

He said: “British people decided, and that’s obviously their 100% right, and if they’re willing to come back, they will have to decide.

“But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime.”

Mr Lescure’s remarks follow the Prime Minister’s suggestion that Labour could revisit the issue in a future manifesto.

At his first Labour conference as Prime Minister, Mr Burnham said it was not “about leaping to a referendum” as he seeks to find a political consensus on the UK’s future relationship with Brussels.

But, he said, if public opinion is “pointing towards” backing re-entry into the bloc, he could commit to holding a vote on the issue in the next manifesto.

He also declined to rule out skipping a referendum and fighting the next general election on a promise to rejoin.

Mr Burnham is due to meet with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin on Thursday, with talks expected to focus on defence and security.

His recent comments on the EU were welcomed by French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who declared he would welcome the UK back into the bloc with “open arms”.

In his Labour Party conference speech, the Prime Minister said Brexit had done “more harm than good” and promised to set out the options to the country around the time of a UK-EU summit, which he said would be in November.

Mr Burnham later told ITV News: “I can’t avoid the Europe question if I’m to put out a credible 10-year plan for Britain.”

Asked whether that could mean sticking to the status quo, he said: “I don’t know what Europe will say about the different options.

“We’ve got to look at where we are, where they are and see what is a realistic and viable approach in all of the areas that we mentioned and then open up a conversation about it.”

He said his “instincts” were that “it is better to be closer” to the EU “with all of the threats that we see around the world”.