New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wants a better relationship with Brussels as he vowed to rip up the “botched” deal struck by Boris Johnson.

New Foreign Secretary David Lammy has already headed to Europe for talks with key players, with a promise the UK would be a “good neighbour” after the years of Brexit acrimony.

“We intend to improve our relationship with the EU and that means closer trading ties with the EU, it means closer ties in relation to research and development and closer ties in relation to defence and security,” Starmer said in Edinburgh.

“I do think that we can get a much better deal than the botched deal that Boris Johnson saddled the UK with.”

He added that it depended on “respectful relationships, talking to leaders across the EU and of course that work has already begun”.

Lammy used his first trip abroad as the UK’s top diplomat to make clear to his counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden about the chance to “seize the opportunity for a reset” and work “even more closely together to tackle shared challenges”.

Lammy identified support for Ukraine and climate change, along with holidays and student exchanges, as areas to focus on.

Elsewhere, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the return of freedom of movement with the EU was not on the table as part of efforts to improve post-Brexit trade.

The Foreign Secretary could attend the September meeting of the EU foreign affairs council despite the UK no longer being a member of the bloc.

EU foreign affairs and security policy leader Josep Borrell Fontelles said the pair had a “good call” and discussed EU-UK cooperation in foreign and security policy, the latest developments in the Middle East and support for Ukraine.