Politics

Boris Johnson has said the UK’s destiny “now resides firmly in our hands” as his Brexit trade deal cleared Parliament and entered into law. It comes after MPs overwhelmingly approved the deal to pave the way for the UK-EU agreement to come into force at 11pm today, when the current Brexit transition period – during

Boris Johnson has hailed the “astonishing speed” with which the UK-EU trade deal was agreed and says the agreement “demonstrates how Britain can be at once European and sovereign”. It comes as MPs debate the deal ahead of a vote which could see the agreement ratified by parliament by the end of the day. If approved,

Boris Johnson will claim the Brexit trade deal agreed on Christmas Eve represents “not a rupture but a resolution” of relations between the UK and Europe, as he urges MPs to back the legislation that will put it into law. The government intends to pass the EU Future Relationship Bill through parliament at break-neck speed

The post-Brexit trade deal between the EU and UK has brought “a little stability” but there are still some elements of the bloc’s future relationship with Britain to determine, Brussels’ chief negotiator has said. Michel Barnier, who led trade negotiations with the UK on behalf of the EU, told French radio on Tuesday his team

The military is being called in to help secondary schools and colleges with coronavirus testing at the start of the spring term. Some 1,500 personnel will give planning support, training and phone advice to English schools needing help with the testing process and setting up facilities. The government is pressing ahead with plans for primary

The government is pushing ahead with plans for primary school and older secondary school children to return to classrooms next week – although a senior minister admitted “we always keep things under review”. There have been calls for the return of pupils after the Christmas holidays to be delayed until later in January, in a

EU officials are set to meet on Monday to discuss the Brexit trade deal agreed with the UK on Christmas Eve. If the agreement, covering £660bn of trade, can be provisionally approved by EU ambassadors, it will then move on to formal ratification by the European Parliament. The Brexit agreement will almost certainly be passed

The Brexit trade deal agreed on Christmas Eve can be an “enormously unifying moment for our country”, the chancellor has said. Rishi Sunak said anyone who is worried about the economic implications of the breach with Brussels should be “enormously reassured about the comprehensive nature” of the agreement. The deal gives that reassurance, he said,

Plans are under way for the new post-Brexit trade deal to be implemented, as EU ambassadors praised the bloc’s “resilience” during negotiations. Brussels’ chief negotiator Michel Barnier updated representatives of all the 27 countries on Christmas Day after yesterday’s last-minute breakthrough. He arrived at the event in Brussels in a mask, carrying a hefty blue

Boris Johnson has appealed to hardline Eurosceptic Tory MPs to back his post-Brexit trade agreement in next week’s 11th-hour vote. The prime minister admitted “the devil is in the detail” of the more than 1,000-page treaty due to come into force from 1 January, but insisted it is “the right deal for the UK and

The home secretary has said the UK will continue to be one of the “safest countries in the world” despite being locked out of a key crime database from next year. Priti Patel said the EU and UK have “effective tools to tackle serious crime” going forwards. From July next year, the UK will start

Boris Johnson has said the Brexit trade agreement is his Christmas present to the country – serving as “the feast” after he promised an “oven ready deal”. The prime minister also used his Christmas message to say he believes the agreement will be the basis of a “happy and successful” relationship with the EU. Speaking

So how will Europe feel about the UK finally walking out of the EU door? Well, it will mean different things to different countries, and there will be plenty who are relieved that the saga of Brexit negotiations has come to an end. Follow live updates and reaction to Brexit breakthrough Image: ‘Parting is such

When Boris Johnson stood up in the Greenwich Naval Observatory, less than 72 hours after Britain’s formal exit from the European Union on 31 January, he was unequivocal. The UK had “ended a debate that has run for three-and-a-half years” and “settled” the long-running question of sovereign authority, he said. To the sound of a

Talks between the UK and EU on a post-Brexit trade deal are in the “end phase”, an EU official has told Sky News. With both sides trying to reach an agreement before the end of the transition period next week, sources in London and Brussels have told Sky News that a Brexit deal could be

More areas could be moved into Tier 4 after Christmas given the “very worrying” new coronavirus variant, a cabinet minister has told Sky News. Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said the mutation “is very concentrated in London and the South East”, where full lockdown measures are already imposed. “We’ve now had time to think again about