PM call with Czech Prime Minister Sobotka: 29 September 2016

30 Sep 2016 03:15 PM

Theresa May spoke with the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka to offer her condolences for the Czech national killed in London last week.

A Downing Street spokesperson said,

The Prime Minister spoke to the Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka by telephone this afternoon.

The Prime Minister began by offering her sincere condolences for the Czech national killed in London last week. She said that while we understood this particular incident was not considered to be a hate crime, the UK government condemned hate crime in the strongest way possible and it had no place in British society.

They agreed that the UK and the Czech Republic enjoyed excellent bilateral relations and that the relationship would continue to go from strength to strength, particularly in defence and commercial areas. The Prime Minister said that while the UK had voted to leave the EU, we would not be leaving Europe, and we wanted to continue to have close, positive relationships with remaining EU member states.

The Prime Minister reiterated that we would not be triggering Article 50 before the end of the year, to give us time to prepare and to ensure negotiations are as smooth as possible.

They looked forward to meeting each other at the European Council.