A majority of the British public support the free movement of citizens to live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU, according to a new survey mapping public opinion across Europe.

It comes after a spokesman for Theresa May confirmed earlier this week that free movement would end when Britain formally leaves the EU in March 2019 – the deadline set for the conclusion of Brexit talks.

But the barometer of public opinion – commissioned by the EU Commission – appears to contradict the commonly held view that British people are not in favour of free movement.

The survey suggests that up to 70 per cent of those interviewed in the UK said they were for the statement: “The free movement of EU citizens who can live, work, study and do business anywhere in the EU”. Just 9 per cent replied “don’t know” while 21 per cent disagreed.

But despite the clear majority support for free movement – one of the EU’s “four freedoms” – Britain still has the second lowest level of support out of all the member states. The survey shows that a staggering 94 per cent of respondents in the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania were for the free movement of EU citizens anywhere in the continent.

From the EU Commission’s ‘Spring 2017 – Standard Eurobarometer’ (Getty)

While Italian participants viewed free movement the least favourably out of all the member states a majority, 69 per cent, were still for it.

The major survey by the EU Commission was conducted through face-to-face interviews in May 2017 and a total of 33,180 people participated across the member states.

Responding to the survey, Peter Kyle, a Labour MP and leading supporter of the soft-Brexit campaign group Open Britain, said: “The clear support free movement enjoys among so many British people shows why the Government must not damage our economy in a desperate attempt to crack down on immigration.

“Our immigration system does need reform, but we must not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Britain will always need EU citizens to work in our businesses and our NHS, contribute to our welfare state and support our universities by studying here. And we will still want our citizens to have the right to live, study and work freely in Europe.”

Asked separately “what are the two most important issues you are facing at the moment”, the most frequently identified issue among Brits was rising prices, inflation and the cost of living. The second most important issue was health and social security while pensions and the financial situation of the household were the third most important issue. Just 4 per cent cited immigration as an issue facing them personally.

From the EU Commission’s ‘Spring 2017 – Standard Eurobarometer’

The commission data also claimed that despite the UK voting to leave the bloc at the referendum last year, an increasing majority – 56 per cent – of people in the EU were optimistic about its future. The most significant increase in optimism came from French respondents with 55 per cent now optimistic about the bloc’s future – an 11 per cent increase on the same survey in the autumn of 2016.

But among British respondents, optimism was much lower on 39 per cent while just 20 per cent believed the British economy would improve in the coming year.