Jean-Claude Juncker said Britain must accept EU rules on free movement if it wanted access to the single market

Britain will have to accept EU rules including free movement “without exception or nuance” if it wants to retain full access to the single market, Jean-Claude Juncker has said.

The European Commission president’s comments are a setback to hopes that Britain might be able to retain free trade with EU member states while imposing some restrictions on European immigration.

He said that his position remained the same as the day after the Brexit vote: “No access to the internal market if you do not accept the rules — without exception or nuance — that make up the internal market system.”

They echo comments by President Hollande of France after talks with Theresa May last week that Britain has a choice: “To remain in the single