Brexit news – live: UK officially completes exit from EU as clock strikes midnight in Brussels
The clock face of Elizabeth Tower, commonly known as Big Ben, is seen at the stroke of 11pm on December 31, 2020
(Getty Images)Boris Johnson said the UK’s destiny “resides firmly in our hands” as, after years of political upheaval, the nation officially left the EU.
His deal has been branded the worst UK negotiation in 40 years by Tony Blair’s former chief of staff and the negotiator of the Good Friday Agreement. Jonathan Powell said Brussels had got its way “on every major economic point”.
It comes as the UK and Spain said Gibraltar will remain part of EU’s passport-less, free-travel Schengen Area – after reaching an initial agreement over the British territory’s status on Thursday. Elsewhere, the PM’s father Stanley Johnson confirmed he is applying for a French passport. “I will always be European,” he said.
