Britain would back a Zimbabwean bid to rejoin Commonwealth if presidential elections later this summer go smoothly, Boris Johnson has said.

Mr Johnson, the foreign secretary, said Britain would support a Zimbabwean application to rejoin the association provided president Emmerson Mnangagwa delivers on reforms including a free and fair vote.

“July’s election will be a bellwether for the direction of a new Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Government must deliver the free and fair elections the people of Zimbabwe deserve and which it has promised," Mr Johnson said during a meeting with Sibusiso Moyo, Zimbabwe's foreign and trade minister.