Brexit: 'Penalising Britain is not a favourable scenario'

Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says he wants any Brexit agreement between the UK and EU to ensure the closest economic, trade and investment co-operation possible can continue.

French President Francois Hollande and Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel have indicated that Britain should pay a high price for leaving the EU, and that there can be no preferential access to the single market unless Britain accepts the free movement of people.

But Mr Szijjarto told the BBC HARDtalk presenter Stephen Sackur that "it is very important for us to protect the rights of people already working here, on the other hand we understand that penalising Britain is not a favourable scenario".

The UK had played an important role in the debates about the future of the EU and represented a very rational position and voice which would be missed, he said.

Watch more clips at HARDtalk's website.

You can see the interview in full on HARDtalk on BBC World News on Thursday 20 October 2016.