Socialist Brexit summit

Jeremy Corbyn has invited European leaders to join him for an alternative Brexit summit, weeks before Theresa May fires the starting gun for the process of leaving the EU.

The Labour leader, pictured, said senior socialists in Europe were “disappointed” with the government’s approach to Brexit and the lack of information they were being given.

Mr Corbyn held talks on the sidelines of the European Council in Brussels, with prominent figures including Czech prime minister Bohuslav Sobotka and Party of European Socialists president Sergei Stanishev.

The Labour leader said he had invited the socialist group, potentially including French president Francois Hollande, to London in February for a meeting about shaping Brexit.

Mr Corbyn said: “I have been trying to reach out to European leaders to say that we want the closest possible relationship in the future whilst respecting the result of the referendum.”