Theresa May has shot down calls for the Government to unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU citizens living in Britain before Brexit negotiations start.

The Government has come under pressure to make the pledge before Article 50 is triggered and formal talks begin.

But the Prime Minister dismissed the proposal as "not the right way forward" and said negotiating a deal that would guarantee the rights of EU citizens in the UK, and UK nationals in Europe, would be a priority "as soon as the negotiations begin".

Mrs May made the comments as she gave MPs in the Commons an update on talks held last week at the Informal European Council in Malta.

She said: "On the issue of acquired rights, the general view is that we should reach an agreement which applied equally to the other 27 member states and the UK, which is why we think a unilateral decision from the UK is not the right way forward.

"But as I have said before, EU citizens living in the UK make a vital contribution to our economy and our society, and without them we would be poorer and our public services weaker.

"So we will make securing the reciprocal agreement that will guarantee their status a priority as soon as the negotiations begin. And I want to see this agreed as soon as possible because that is in everyone's interests."

The Council was held shortly after the Government published a white paper setting out its priorities for the upcoming Brexit negotiations, expected to start at the end of March.

The Prime Minister said EU leaders "welcomed the clarity of the objectives that we have set out for the negotiation ahead".

She added: "They warmly welcomed our ambition to build a new partnership between Britain and the European Union, which is in the interests of both sides.

"They also welcomed the recognition that we in Britain want to see a strong and successful European Union, because that is in our interests and the interests of the whole world."

Jeremy Corbyn urged the Government not to wait until formal talks begin to guarantee the rights of EU nationals and "today provide them with the clarity and assurances that they both need, and I believe, deserve".

The Labour leader said: "Labour has been unequivocal that it is within this Government's gift to guarantee the rights of EU citizens to remain in this country. There is no need to wait for negotiations to begin, the Government could do it now.

"This is not a question about Brexit, it is a question about human rights, democracy and decency towards people who have lived and worked in this country, and many families here have children born here and I think we must guarantee their rights.

"Many of those people have been left in limbo and are very deeply concerned and stressed."

Several amendments requiring the Government to give the guarantee have been tabled for the Bill to trigger Article 50, which MPs are discussing for the next three days.

Mrs May used the summit to press Nato members to meet the target of spending 2% of their GDP on defence.

But Mr Corbyn said Britain only reaches this target by changing the way it counts spending and said cuts since 2010 have "demoralised our armed forces" and reduced the size of the army by several thousand.

When Tory former minister John Redwood raised the issue of EU citizens' right to stay after Brexit, Mrs May said: "I have every confidence that we'll be able to address this issue as an early discussion within the negotiations.

"I would have liked to have been able to address it outside of the negotiations.

"Sadly, there were some member states that didn't wish to do that, but I think there is the goodwill there to give the reassurance both to EU citizens here and UK citizens in Europe.

"It is important that we give that reassurance at as early a stage as possible."

Later on, she added: "It isn't the question of not offering reciprocal rights.

"I think the question is for some member states they didn't want to negotiate part of what they saw as the negotiations, the fuller negotiations, until Article 50 has been triggered.

"It is Article 50 that will trigger our ability to discuss this matter."

Mrs May went on to say there was "a growing recognition among the member states of the European Union that within Nato it is important to meet the 2% commitment for expenditure on defence".

The Prime Minister also made clear to SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson that she was representing the United Kingdom at EU council meetings.

Mr Robertson had pressed Mrs May on what representations she had made from Scotland to other EU leaders, such as Scotland's desire to remain in the single market.

Mrs May replied: "What I was putting forward is the views of the United Kingdom. It is the UK that will be negotiating.

"We listen, we take account of, we incorporate views of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, but when I'm sitting there around the EU council, I'm doing it as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom."

MPs pressed Mrs May on the response of EU leaders to Donald Trump's attitude to Russia after he expressed a wish for better ties with Moscow and praised Vladimir Putin.

Labour's Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) said: "Over the weekend President Trump has made a series of bizarre statements about relationships with Russia, leading one Republican senator to say, 'I don't understand what the president's position is on Russia'.

"Does she understand what it is and has she communicated that to our European partners?"

Mrs May said: "I think the discussions I have had so far and I think all the indications are that President Trump feels the need and wants to engage more with Russia than has happened in the past.

"The message I gave when I spoke in Philadelphia to the Republican party was that I think it is right to engage but my message in relation to Russia is 'engage but beware'."

The Prime Minister also pledged to collaborate with EU leaders to prevent the return of refugee camps such as the Calais Jungle, which was cleared by French authorities in October.

Responding to a question from Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, she said: "We will make every effort and work with the French Government to ensure that we don't see a return to the sort of camps that we were seeing last year in Calais before they were cleared."