Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe’s president, has signalled a clean break with the past and a desire to re-engage with the west by inviting the UN, the EU and the Commonwealth to send missions to monitor this year’s elections.

Mr Mnangagwa also held out the prospect of swiftly re-establishing good relations with Britain, the former colonial power, after a two-decade rift under Robert Mugabe, the autocrat who was ousted after a brief military takeover in November.

Speaking to the Financial Times in his first interview with an international news organisation since taking office in November, Mr Mnangagwa said he and the UK were keen for Zimbabwe to rejoin the Commonwealth, the club of Britain’s former colonies. Brexit, he added, would help the rapprochement.