Former Chancellor George Osborne has said that scrapping existing European trade arrangements for new deals elsewhere after Brexit would be the biggest act of protectionism in British history.

He said that maintaining close trading links with European neighbours like Germany and France was "in Britain's national interest, our economic interest, our security interest".

Pointing to the fall in the value of the pound following the referendum, Mr Osborne said that distancing the country from Europe leads to "the world betting against Britain" in the financial markets.

Asked about the UK's ties in the European Economic Area and the single market, he said: "The grass may be greener outside of those arrangements, and we may be able to conduct new free trade deals with Australia and the United States and so on, but that shouldn't come at a price of giving up the existing free trade arrangements we have with Germany and France.

"Whilst I'm a massive fan of trade deals with Australia, I want to do trade deals with China - quite controversial in this country, and will prove to be so, many of these trade deals when they come to Parliament - but there's no point saying you want all of that trade, but you don't want to do the trade we already do with countries like Germany or France, which of course are absolutely central trading partners of ours.

"You can't say we're a beacon of free trade in the world and then the main thing you achieve is a huge act of protectionism, the biggest in British history. We can't tow ourselves out into the middle of the Atlantic - we have to make this relationship work.

"We have got a very competitive economy, we've got really successful entrepreneurial businesses, we've got a great workforce. Let's make sure we have close trading relationships with our key neighbours."

Australia's high commissioner to the UK, Alexander Downer, told the BBC's Sunday Politics he did not think negotiating a free trade agreement between the two countries would take "very long".

Alexander Downer, the Australian High Commissioner to the UK, spoke to the Sunday Politics programme (BBC)

He said: "It's about political will. A free trade agreement is going to be no problem unless you want to protect particular sectors of your economy.

"With the UK I don't think - you can't be sure - but I don't think a free trade agreement would take very long with the UK because the UK wouldn't want to put a lot of obstacles in the way to Australia and we wouldn't set any - not to give away our hand - but we wouldn't want to put a lot of obstacles in the way to British exports."

Mr Downer was expanding on comments he made in the Daily Telegraph, where he touted his country's success in negotiating trade deals of its own after Britain's focus shifted to Europe in the 1970s.

He wrote: "It’s been hard going but we’ve stuck at it, securing free trade agreements with the US, the major economies of north Asia including China and with much of South East Asia. I can immodestly say we’ve done well."

Mr Osborne added on the Marr Show that there should be no red lines in Brexit talks - apart from "we are leaving the EU" - as he warned the vote to leave had made Britain poorer.

The Tatton MP also fired a warning shot to Theresa May by saying Parliament must be allowed to see and debate the plan for Brexit.

And he criticised the target she set as Home Secretary to get net migration down to the tens of thousands, which he said should not include students.

He said: "There are concerns about immigration that can be addressed, but let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater, let's not lose the massive contribution that immigrants have made over many centuries, and continue to make, to Britain's prosperity.

What experts have said about Brexit Show all 11 1 /11 What experts have said about Brexit What experts have said about Brexit Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond The Chancellor claims London can still be a world financial hub despite Brexit “One of Britain’s great strengths is the ability to offer and aggregate all of the services the global financial services industry needs” “This has not changed as a result of the EU referendum and I will do everything I can to ensure the City of London retains its position as the world’s leading international financial centre.” Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Yanis Varoufakis Greece's former finance minister compared the UK relations with the EU bloc with a well-known song by the Eagles: “You can check out any time you like, as the Hotel California song says, but you can't really leave. The proof is Theresa May has not even dared to trigger Article 50. It's like Harrison Ford going into Indiana Jones' castle and the path behind him fragmenting. You can get in, but getting out is not at all clear” Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Michael O’Leary Ryanair boss says UK will be ‘screwed’ by EU in Brexit trade deals: “I have no faith in the politicians in London going on about how ‘the world will want to trade with us’. The world will want to screw you – that's what happens in trade talks,” he said. “They have no interest in giving the UK a deal on trade” Getty What experts have said about Brexit Tim Martin JD Wetherspoon's chairman has said claims that the UK would see serious economic consequences from a Brexit vote were "lurid" and wrong: “We were told it would be Armageddon from the OECD, from the IMF, David Cameron, the chancellor and President Obama who were predicting locusts in the fields and tidal waves in the North Sea" PA What experts have said about Brexit Mark Carney Governor of Bank of England is 'serene' about Bank of England's Brexit stance: “I am absolutely serene about the … judgments made both by the MPC and the FPC” Reuters What experts have said about Brexit Christine Lagarde IMF chief urges quick Brexit to reduce economic uncertainty: “We want to see clarity sooner rather than later because we think that a lack of clarity feeds uncertainty, which itself undermines investment appetites and decision making” Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Inga Beale Lloyd’s chief executive says Brexit is a major issue: "Clearly the UK's referendum on its EU membership is a major issue for us to deal with and we are now focusing our attention on having in place the plans that will ensure Lloyd's continues trading across Europe” EPA What experts have said about Brexit Colm Kelleher President of US bank Morgan Stanley says City of London ‘will suffer’ as result of the EU referendum: “I do believe, and I said prior to the referendum, that the City of London will suffer as result of Brexit. The issue is how much” What experts have said about Brexit Richard Branson Virgin founder believes we've lost a THIRD of our value because of Brexit and cancelled a deal worth 3,000 jobs: We're not any worse than anybody else, but I suspect we've lost a third of our value which is dreadful for people in the workplace.' He continued: "We were about to do a very big deal, we cancelled that deal, that would have involved 3,000 jobs, and that’s happening all over the country" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Barack Obama US President believes Britain was wrong to vote to leave the EU: "It is absolutely true that I believed pre-Brexit vote and continue to believe post-Brexit vote that the world benefited enormously from the United Kingdom's participation in the EU. We are fully supportive of a process that is as little disruptive as possible so that people around the world can continue to benefit from economic growth" Getty Images What experts have said about Brexit Kristin Forbes American economist and an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England argues that the economy had been “less stormy than many expected” following the shock referendum result: “For now…the economy is experiencing some chop, but no tsunami. The adverse winds could quickly pick up – and merit a stronger policy response. But recently they have shifted to a more favourable direction” Getty

"The problem with any type of target is that within it are all sorts of different types of migrants. There are people who are coming permanently for reasons to, for example, be with their family, but they may not make a big economic contribution to the country and they're coming to be with us for the rest of their lives.

"There are also students who turn up, they're only there for two or three years, and education is one of our biggest export industries. I think it's one of Britain's biggest success stories in the world and it creates links around the world of affection to Britain.