Brexit: Daily Express projects Union Jack onto Cliffs of Dover
Britain fully left the EU at 11pm on Thursday evening after a trade deal was agreed between the two sides on Christmas Eve. The 11-month Brexit transition period came to an end, freeing the UK from the EU's rules on the Single Market and Customs Union. But French President Mr Macron, a vocal critic of Brexit and of the UK's negotiating stance with the EU during talks, took one final swipe before Britain fully left the bloc.
He said in his New Year's address to France: “The United Kingdom remains our neighbour, but also our friend and ally.
“This choice to leave Europe, this Brexit, was the child of the European malaise and of many lies and false promises."
During his ninth televised address of the year, Mr Macron said the Brexit trade deal agreed with the UK was “defending our interests, our industries, our fishermen and our European unity".
The French President then stressed the necessity of building “a stronger, more autonomous, more united Europe, before adding: “Our destiny is first and foremost in Europe."
Brexit latest: Emmanuel Maccron has taken one last bitter swipe at the UK (Image: GETTY)
In his own New Year's Message to the UK, Boris Johnson said: "This is an amazing moment for this country.
"We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it."
The Prime Minister insisted there would be no bonfire of regulations to build a "bargain basement Dickensian Britain", adding the country would remain the "quintessential European civilization".
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Brexit latest: The timeline of events that have led to the UK's departure from the EU (Image: EXPRESS)
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9.47am update: Boris Johnson 'proud' UK taking over presidency of G7
The Prime Minister has tweeted that hosting both the G7 summit and UN Climate Change Conference makes it a "hugely important year for Global Britain".
Mr Johnson wrote: "Proud that the UK is taking over the 2021 Presidency of the G7 today.
"Hosting both the G7 Summit and @COP26 will make this a hugely important year for Global Britain and I look forward to welcoming our friends and allies as we beat COVID and build back better from the pandemic."
Brexit remoaners have taken to social media to blast Lord David Frost for celebrating the UK's formal separation from the EU on Thursday evening.
Britain’s chief negotiator for Brexit took to Twitter to praise the country’s exit from the EU. Lord Frost wrote: “Britain has just become a fully independent country again - deciding our own affairs for ourselves.
“Thank you to everyone who worked with me & @BorisJohnson to get us here in the last 18 months.
“We have a great future before us. Now we can build a better country for us all.”
But Remainers erupted at the celebration on Thursday evening.
One social media user wrote: “We will watch and record your successes and failures and you will be left wanting.
“You have destroyed a great Union.
“I hope you really believe it's worth it.”
Brexit latest: Lord Frost came under attack from Remainers after posting this tweet (Image: @DavidGHFrost / Twitter)
9.15am update: Brexit is 'not something to celebrate', says Coveney
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told BBC Radio 4's Today: "For 48 years, the United Kingdom really has been a central part of the European Union.
"That is now firmly ending with the end of the transition period, post-Brexit.
"For all of us in Ireland, that is not something to celebrate."
9am update: Ireland warns change in trade arrangement with UK will cause severe disruption
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told BBC Radio 4's Today: "We're now going to see the 80 billion euro (£71.2 billion) worth of trade across the Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland disrupted by an awful lot more checks and declarations, and bureaucracy and paperwork, and cost and delay
"That is the inevitable consequence, unfortunately, even with a trade agreement which everybody, I think, is very relieved was signed on Christmas Eve."
8.31am update: First ferry arrives at Dublin Port under new trade rules
Irish Ferries' ship Ulysses docked at 5.55am with about a dozen trucks on board after travelling from Holyhead in Wales.
It was a straightforward journey for the ferry as the freight trailers cleared customs checks for the first time under the new rules following the end of the Brexit transition period.
New documentation and red tape will now be required between EU member states and Britain, with many warning this will cause severe delays at ports.
8.26am update: Nicola Sturgeon tells Europe to 'keep a light on' as Scotland will be 'back soon'
Scotland's First Minister posted the tweet shortly after the Brexit transition period formally ended at 11pm on December 31.
She tweeted a picture of the words Europe and Scotland attached by a loveheart, and wrote: "Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on."
The image had previously been projected on to the side of the EU Commission building in Brussels.
Brexit latest: Nicola Sturgeon tweeted a picture saying Europe loves Scotland and vowed to return to the EU (Image: @NicolaSturgeon / Twitter)
George Galloway has accused SNP leader Nicole Sturgeon of "hypocritical opportunism" after she marked Britain's departure from the EU with a vow to return to the bloc with an independent Scotland.
The former Labour MP said Ms Sturgeon had once backed an EU referendum and claimed she would have dragged Scotland out of Europe with no deal had the country won its independence ballot in 2014.
He said: "Sturgeons faux Europeanism is hypocritical opportunism.
"She joined SNP when it fought for Brexit! She backed a referendum on the EU because they were robbing our fish!
"If she’d won in 2014 she would’ve dragged us out with No Deal! She’s a wee parish-pump nationalist, that’s all."
Mr Galloway's outburst came after Ms Sturgeon said Europe should "keep a light on" as Scotland will be "back soon".
The First Minister tweeted her message to Brussels just after the Brexit transition period formally ended at 11pm last night.
Ms Sturgeon reiterated the SNP's call for an independent Scotland to join the EU.
Tweeting a picture of the words Europe and Scotland attached by a love heart, she said: "Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on."
8.03am update: First lorry passes through controls at Eurotunnel as UK leaves EU wingle market
The firs tlorry has passed through controls at the Eurotunnel as it headed for Europe.
Driver Slavi Ivanov Shumeykov smiled and waved at caermas as his HGV was processed by officials late on Thursday.
His Eddie Stobart vehicle passed through Eurotunnel controls in Folkestone, Kent just after 11pm.
Brexit latest: The first truck to arrive from Wales in the UK under new Irish Sea trading arrangements (Image: NIALL CARSON / PA)
7.47am update: Irish hauliers warn of 'mayhem' as UK formally leaves EU
The UK has left the EU, and becomes a third country for trade purposes and customs declarations.
New documentation and red tape will now be required between EU member states and Britain, with many warning this will cause severe delays at ports.
Eugene Drennan, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association (IRHA), warned there would be "trouble and chaos" in the coming weeks as systems had not been tested.
He said: "The systems have not been tested, they have not been tried.
"There will be delays, for sure. The mayhem that's coming in Dublin Port is unbelievable.
"They've done nothing to alleviate it. They have a plan that is absolutely nonsensical, and the nature of it and how it is laid out and the structure of it, it is going to cause a lot of grief.
"There will be trouble and chaos."
7.40am update: 'We are finally out of the anti democratic supranational institution that is the EU'
Brexiteer and former Brexit Party MEP Ben Habib has tweeted: "This morning is much like any other new year’s dawn. Cold and overcast.
"Oh there is one difference. We are finally out of the anti democratic supranational institution that is the EU.
At 23:00 on December 31 Britain exited the EU’s Brexit transition period during which it had continued paying into the Brussels budget and implementing many EU laws. Instead the UK and EU will trade based on a new agreement approved by Boris Johnson and voted through Parliament on December 30.
However Ms Sturgeon, who has backed second referendums on both Scotland’s place in the UK and Britain’s EU membership, used the occasion to claim Scotland will reconnect with Brussels.
The SNP leader tweeted: “Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.”
She accompanied this with a photo showing the words “Europe” and “Scotland” being projected into an EU building in Brussels, with a heart placed where they intersect.
The post received 12,000 retweets, but some Twitter users were critical in the replies.
One commented: “You are aware just over one million Scottish voters voted for Brexit as well?”
Another added: “Scotland will always be in Europe.
“But we will not be back in the EU.
“Even if you do achieve Scexit, your own people say it will be approximately 19 years before we would be eligible to join.”
Leaders of eight London boroughs have written to the education secretary to ask him to reverse the decision to reopen primary schools in selected areas.
In the letter to Gavin Williamson, the leaders say they were "struggling to understand the rationale" behind a move that ignored the "interconnectedness of our city".
They pointed out that COVID-19 infection rates are higher in some boroughs told to reopen schools than in others where they will remain closed.
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Schools delay about 'rooting out coronavirus'
The leaders of the boroughs of Islington, Camden, Hackney, Lambeth, Lewisham, Greenwich, Haringey and Harrow signed the letter.
Schools in the City of London and Kingston will also reopen under current rules, but those in 22 other London boroughs will remain closed.
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Danny Thorpe, leader of Labour-controlled Greenwich, which was threatened with legal action by the government after issuing advice to schools to move to online learning for the last few days before Christmas, said: "In a case-by-case comparison, there appears to be no logic to how this list was brought together."
He highlighted that Kensington and Chelsea "has one of the lowest infection rates of the whole of the capital, yet their children and young people are being afforded the extra protection that apparently Royal Greenwich students don't need".
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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that primary school students being told to return next week was "nonsensical" and said he had written to the prime minister expressing his anger that local leaders were not consulted.
"This is not the way to run schools in our city or our country and it's another example of the chaotic and shambolic way that the government has dealt with this pandemic," he said.
Staff in boroughs where schools were reopening have expressed concern about their own safety.
Kevin Courtney, joint leader of the National Education Union, said: "Gavin Williamson must listen to the leaders of the community, he must listen to school staff and he must listen to the general public who are all telling him that it is not safe to reopen schools on Monday."
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, added: "There is obviously a huge amount of concern over how it can be safe for schools in some Tier 4 areas to open while schools in other Tier 4 areas are being told to move to remote learning. In some instances this means different approaches for schools only a few roads away from each other."
According to COVID-19 rates compiled by PA news agency, Greenwich had 2,176 new cases recorded in the seven days to 26 December, Hackney and City of London had 2,217 and Islington had 1,499.
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London doctor: 'Situation is critical'
In comparison, Kensington and Chelsea, which has been told to shut primary schools, had 768 new cases in the same period.
On Thursday, the UK recorded 55,892 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours - the highest figure on record.
The number of deaths in the last 24 hours within 28 days of a positive test was 964, bringing the total number of deaths in the UK to 73,512.
More than a million people have now received their first coronavirus vaccine.
In a joint statement from Professor Chris Whitty and the chief medical officers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, they said the public would "understand" and "thank" them for the plan to give first jabs as a priority, whilst delaying the follow up vaccination for others.
The deployment of the newly approved Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine will begin on Monday, almost a month after the roll-out of the Pfizer/BioNtech jab.
But second doses will now take place within 12 weeks rather than 21 days as initially planned.
In response to criticism from GPs over the change, the joint statement said that while it was "difficult" to reschedule second inoculations, it was better to offer more people "substantial protection" with the first dose within two or three weeks, as the UK waits for more vaccine stocks.
New Year's Eve in Birmingham, and the impact of Tier 4 COVID restrictions is all too apparent.
Occasional fireworks, and a rainbow of lasers, light up the sky, and optimistic taxi drivers line up on ranks in the city centre.
But the bars are closed, the restaurants have their shutters down, and the nightclubs are quiet. Only the takeaways are open, their customers walking home with familiar white plastic bags through the eerily quiet streets.
On any other New Year's Eve, these same streets would be thronging with people. The city centre would entertain tens of thousands of party-goers. The bars and restaurants taking hundreds of thousands of pounds on one of their busiest nights of the year.
And bubbles would only be mentioned when talking about champagne.
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But not in 2020.
Tier 4 means "stay at home". No one can meet with any other people indoors, unless they live with them, or are part of a support bubble.
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That means any celebrations have to be small, and private.
If anyone breaks the rules, they can be fined, and West Midlands Police, like forces up and down the country, is tasked with enforcing the restrictions.
Inspector Richard Cox is Bronze Commander for the evening, co-ordinating around a hundred officers. Many of them are part of the Operational Support Unit, or OSU, trained in dealing with public order incidents, home searches and football matches.
Image:Birmingham is under strict Tier 4 coronavirus measures
"Our main aim is to utilise the four E's which have been devised in response to the pandemic," he says.
"Firstly to engage with the public, then to explain the rules, to educate people about how they should behave, and only finally to enforce the legislation with fines."
We're on patrol with PC Dave Grossett.
Closing down parties might not have been what he signed up for, but he knows it's an important job, as the country continues to record higher and higher rates of infection.
"Nobody joins the police to keep families apart, we'd rather be bringing people together," he says.
"But these are very difficult times, and we know that the rules aren't there to victimise people, they're there to protect the most vulnerable."
Image:Some people are not abiding by the Tier 4 rules in Birmingham this New Year's Eve
Within minutes of leaving the police station, the radio is chattering with information about a number of locations where the restrictions are potentially being breached.
Every incident, COVID-related or not, is given a "P" number from one to nine to indicate the severity of the offence. P1 is the highest level, and requires attendance within 15 minutes.
The first call we head for is classified as P3, with information to the police suggesting a gathering of over 30 people in the garden of a property in Tividale, near Dudley.
Image:Police attended and checked the reported gatherings, before dispersing people found not following rules
We arrive at the same time as another team of four officers, only to discover the party had already been dispersed by Community Support Officers, with no action taken.
The digital running log is constantly being updated with incidents: a pub in West Bromwich where lights and music have been reported; 12 people celebrating in the front garden and on the road outside a house in Solihull; a house party in Birmingham city centre that's been reported by several neighbours; a group of men having a barbecue inside an industrial unit.
By 10pm there have been more than 100 recorded. Nearly all are small house parties which are quickly dispersed. Some are legitimate gatherings. Some have been falsely or maliciously reported. But all still have to be attended and checked.
We head to the city centre to follow up reports that a group of 40 to 50 young people have gathered.
They soon disperse, and a group of stragglers, some wearing sequinned party dresses ill-suited for the sub-zero temperatures, are given face masks by police before they make use of one the taxis whose driver's optimism has paid off.
It's not clear whether they were heading to, or from, a party. The next call suggests it was the former.
At an apartment block nearby, we arrive to find a dozen or more officers attending a party of at least 35 young people.
Names, ages and addresses are taken, some given more readily than others, then the youths are given dispersal notices and sent home. Their ages will determine whether or not they receive fixed penalty notices in the coming days.
Image:Almost 300 incidents were reported before midnight
As we continue to drive around the residential streets, it seems that the vast majority of people are sticking to the rules.
But almost 300 reported incidents by midnight suggest that not everyone was prepared to observe the restrictions.
Some don't believe in compliance, others don't believe in COVID. Some simply believe they'll get away with it.
All of them though have chosen to behave in a way that according to the health professionals, could ultimately cost lives.
It's a new year and a new chapter for the UK's relationship with Europe. How millions of people live, work and travel will look very different in 2021.
That's because the transition period - when the UK continued to follow the EU's rules - ended on 31 December. Now a post-Brexit trade deal, reached just before the deadline, has come into force.
So, with this historic change looming, the BBC spoke to Europeans in the UK, and British people in Europe, about what Brexit could mean for them.
Courtesy of Catalina Anca Toader
Catalina-Anca Toader from Onesti, Romania... now living in London
I came to the UK more than five years ago when I was accepted by the University of Westminster. I graduated with a first-class degree in 2018, and now work for a digital advertising agency in London.
I hold settled status and plan to apply for UK citizenship in 2021.
During the Brexit negotiations, I was concerned about the exchange rates as well as potential longer queues at airports. But I was mainly worried about whether the UK would impose stricter rules for citizenship and if my student loan repayments would be affected.
I was ultimately left counting down the days until the end of the transition period, worrying that the UK and the EU wouldn't reach an agreement.
So I'm happy with the deal at this stage and, hopefully, I'll soon be able to have dual citizenship. But I do think people may need more time to prepare for the sudden changes.
Courtesy of Jason Carter
Jason Carter from the UK's Isle of Wight... now living in Stockholm, Sweden
I first arrived in Sweden as a student in 1999. I met my wife, Jessica, in Stockholm around that time but only moved here permanently in 2006. I live here with Jessica and our 11-year-old son, Ulf.
I became a Swedish citizen in 2016 and have dual citizenship. I applied in April ahead of the Brexit vote because I wanted to ensure I remained an EU citizen afterwards.
As someone whose life has been altered by the opportunities and rights that being a member of the EU gave, I was concerned what would happen to those rights. In particular, the right for my family to resettle in the UK one day.
When I married Jessica we both had the right to live and work in the UK or Sweden. Any attempt to return to the UK would likely be extremely difficult now - so the future we had planned is now no longer easily available.
I had also hoped that my son would one day be able to spend time on the Isle Of Wight, working summer jobs and living in the UK. But this is not as easy as it once would have been.
I don't think this is the deal that anyone wanted. But the fact a no-deal Brexit was averted at the 11th hour is perhaps more of a cause for celebration.
The basics
A Brexit deal was agreed, days before a deadline. It means that the UK and the EU can continue to trade without extra taxes being put on goods.
What took so long? The UK voted to leave the EU in 2016 and actually left on 31 January 2020, but leaders had until the end of 2020 to work out a trade deal.
There are big changes ahead. Although it's a trade deal that has been agreed, there will also be changes to how people travel between the EU and UK, and to the way they live and work.
Courtesy of Tyurkyan Osmanova
Tyurkyan Osmanova from Shumen, Bulgaria... now living in Cambridge, England
Back home, I was a journalist for Bulgarian National Radio and had two university degrees. But I followed my husband to the UK eight years ago.
Usually, when somebody moves to a different country it's for study, work or to seek a better future. For me, it was a mixture of all of them.
It hasn't been easy, but I started a business offering accounting services and now I have an office in Cambridge and a good portfolio. A few months ago, I applied for British citizenship because I'd like to spend the rest of my life here and provide a future for my children in this country.
We were worried about the uncertainty of a no-deal Brexit, so we welcomed the trade deal like a Christmas present. Many people are breathing a sigh of relief over that!
But we still don't know the real parameters of the deal and I think it will take time for it to settle and be put into action.
My husband has a food business, and he's worried about how the deal will affect the prices of goods and supplies. Sadly, lots of small businesses are giving up because they feel double pressure from Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
It will be a challenging time for all of us.
Courtesy of Dave Sheldrake
Alyson Sheldrake from Devon, England... now living in the Algarve, Portugal
I'm a former director of education at the Church of England and my husband, Dave, is a retired police officer. We bought a house in the Algarve in 2006 while still living and working in the UK, but once Dave retired in 2011 we moved here permanently.
One of our main concerns was that everything was left unresolved for so long. It left everyone in limbo, not knowing what might happen or what the future might look like.
We've had to accept that whatever deal was struck would negatively influence us and our financial position. The pound-to-euro rate plummeted as soon as the Brexit vote was announced, and it hasn't moved much since.
There are broader concerns than just our own lives to consider, though. As a former educator, I'm aware of the benefits programmes like the Erasmus scheme bring to young people.
I guess it's better to have a trade deal in place than not having one, but people are already talking about tariff wars in the future and they haven't even started sorting out what this means in terms of transporting goods.
Personally, I'm intent on bringing my Portuguese language skills up to the required level to apply for citizenship. We're settled and very happy here.
Courtesy of Bibiana Jordan-Horvath
Bibiana Jordan-Horvath from Krompachy, Slovakia... now living in Sheffield, England
I've been living in the UK since the 1990s, when I first came to study English as a foreign language in Salisbury.
I now teach English and work with Czech and Slovak communities in Sheffield and elsewhere. I've definitely noticed panic over Brexit among many people who thought of themselves as established Europeans in this country.
All of us were anxious about jobs, living costs, and how businesses and free movement could be affected.
But I'm definitely pleased a trade deal was agreed. I felt prolonged anxiety during the negotiations, and the coronavirus pandemic didn't help with this! I also think it showed the importance of countries standing together.
We'll have to turn this moment into opportunities and advantages. Let's embrace this change.
The UK has kicked off the New Year with a futuristic drone display (Picture: Getty; Reuters)
London has bid farewell to 2020 with a futuristic drone display, which highlighted key moments from the year the pandemic changed the world.
The pre-recorded display, which was filmed during the early hours of Tuesday, saw the NHS enclosed in a heart, Black Lives Matter fists raised into the air and Sir Captain Tom Moore’s created out of light.
As Big Ben rang out to signal the start of the New Year, the drones formed a giant 2021 and fireworks went off by the Millenium Dome.
A male voice could then be heard reciting a poem that began: ‘In the year of 2020 a new virus came our way. We knew what must be done, and so to help we hid away.
An ode to the failures of 2020 (Picture: BBC)
‘Old habits became extinct and they made way for the new. And every simple act of kindness was now given its due.’
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In a nod to some of 2020’s failures, the drones also poked fun at the year’s endless Zoom calls, creating the words ‘you’re on mute’ above the giant image of a microphone turned off.
Captain Tom Moore, who was made a Sir earlier this year, was immortalised with drones (Picture: BBC)
A giant bird took flight shortly after midnight (Picture: PA)
The NHS was placed inside a heart (Picture: BBC)
The display also featured the sound of the British public applauding NHS workers, clips from national news reports, and music by Stormzy and David Bowie. It ended with Sir David Attenborough calling for people to work in 2021 to help our ‘fragile’ planet.
The 10-minute show used more than 300 drones which were flown around the Millenium Dome after the annual fireworks display at the London Eye was cancelled. Last year, more than 100,000 people gathered around Victoria Embankment for the New Year’s Eve tradition.
This year’s display did not take place due to the virus, with three-quarters of England currently in tier four, which prevents people from leaving their homes unless for exercise, work or education purposes.
Elsewhere in the UK, large fireworks displays were also cancelled in Edinburgh, Manchester and Liverpool in a bid to disperse crowds amid Covid restrictions.
The fireworks were smaller this year (Picture: Getty Images)
The streets looked empty in London this evening (Picture: Reuters)
Coronavirus has seen many New Year’s events cancelled (Picture: Getty Images)
Police officers speak to pedestrians by the London Eye before midnight (Picture: AP)
However several groups of people could be seen gathered on Primrose Hill in London to watch fireworks go off across the capital’s skyline, despite restrictions not allowing more than two people to meet up outside together in tier four.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
