‘Turkey will find it “comforting” if the EU says it cannot be accepted as a member, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told the BBC.

Speaking to HARDtalk’s Zeinab Badawi, he said Turkey was “able to stand on its own two feet”.

He also denied that the country has jailed 150 journalists, saying only two people with press cards were in prison.

His claim came as Turkey extended the detention of the local director of Amnesty International and nine others.

Idil Eser was detained on 5 July during a digital security and information management workshop, along with seven other rights activists and two foreign trainers.’

Read more: President Erdogan tells BBC: EU wastes Turkey’s time