Angela Merkel has said Britain cannot be given access to the European Union's internal market if it limits immigration

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that Britain cannot be given access to the European Union's internal market if it limits immigration, as it would lead to a free-for-all in Europe.

Speaking today to Germany's main industry lobby group, Mrs Merkel stressed to businesspeople for the second day running the importance of upholding the EU's 'fundamental freedoms,' including free movement of EU citizens.

Yesterday, when urging German business leaders to back her tough stance on Brexit, she said that allowing Britain to bend the EU's single market rules would represent 'a systemic challenge for the entire European Union'.

Prime Minister Theresa May has announced plans to formally trigger EU exit talks by the end of March, and pledged to 'restore control' over immigration.

Mrs Merkel said the Brexit talks 'won't be easy negotiations,' adding: 'If we don't say that full access to the internal market is linked to full acceptance of the four fundamental freedoms, a process will spread in Europe in which everyone does what they want.'

Mrs May has agreed that negotiations with the other 27 member states will not be easy, admitting: 'it's not going to be plain sailing.'

Speaking on the eve of her first speech to Conservative Party Conference, she said: 'There will be some bumps in the road as we go through this process.'

Theresa May has pledged to deliver controls on immigration

However, she stood firm in her commitment to curb immigaration, saying: 'For a lot of people the issue of migration from the rest of the EU to the UK was a key issue... we will deliver on that control.'

Joseph Muscat, the prime minister of Malta, the country which will hold the EU's rotating presidency when Mrs May triggers article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, and begins Britain's exit from the EU, has also echoed Mrs Merkel's comments.

The Guardian reports that Mr Muscat said the four freedoms – free movement of goods, capital, services, and people – cannot be separated.

'That cannot be negotiated … These principles are the basis for everything the EU does,' he said.

In response to Mrs Merkel's comments, a government spokesman said: 'There is no benefit to Britain by providing a running commentary on every twist and turn of these negotiations - that approach won't help us get the best deal.