A leading member of the Czech government has broken ranks with the EU and called for his country to sign a separate Brexit agreement with the UK over the status of its citizens living in Britain.

Milan Chovanec, the interior minister, said the Czech Republic should “undertake an independent initiative” and not wait for an EU-UK deal.

Like many of the EU’s Central European members, the Czech Republic has placed the protection of the rights of its citizens living and working in Great Britain as a priority in any discussions over the terms of the UK’s departure from the Union.

Mr Chovanec said a deal was needed in order to quickly end uncertainty surrounding the legal status of UK-based Czechs.

“We should undertake an independent initiative with Great Britain and not wait for what Europe does,” he said during an interview broadcast on Czech Television. “We don’t know how long the talks would take or if it we would even see [a deal] achieved.