Germany has called on Britain not to celebrate the centenary of the First World War but to focus on the idea that the European Union brought peace to the continent.

The government in Berlin recently sent a special envoy to the UK amid fears that the way Britain marks the Great War could affect relations with Angela Merkel’s administration.

Andreas Meitzner called for talks with defence minister Andrew Murrison as well as officials from the Foreign Office and the Department of Culture who are handling the commemorations, which start next year.