Brexit deal live: Latest news and updates as EU trade deal agreed

Nigel Farage has signalled that he will accept the EU trade deal struck by Boris Johnson, declaring “the Brexit wars are over”.

The education secretary has touted the replacement to the Erasmus scheme as “global” and not “limited to the EU”.

Gavin Williamson tweeted: “As the Prime Minister has announced, we will be setting up a UK-wide replacement for Erasmus+.

“Its outlook will be global, not limited to the EU, and the programme will incorporate opportunities which reflect the government’s promise to level up the country.”

Hauliers have cautiously welcomed the trade deal between the UK and EU but warned drivers needed time to adapt to changes at the French border.

The Road Haulage Association said it feared its members will be hit by “vast amounts of new paperwork” and called on the Government to grant a six-month implementation period from the start of 2021 to allow drivers to get used to the new system.

Chief executive Richard Burnett said: “There are, of course, many details to be finalised and confirmed but UK traders and hauliers, dependent upon trouble-free access to the Irish Republic and continental Europe, will still be hit by vast amounts of new paperwork processes and, of course, border checks.

“What we do know is that there will be no 10% tariff on new lorries and that is both welcome and a relief.

“However, with only one week to go until the transition period ends on December 31, it’s essential that we have a six-month implementation period.

“The British economy cannot afford for UK and EU hauliers and traders to begin 2021 with an ill-prepared journey into the unknown.”

The post-Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU is not what was promised to Wales, the First Minister has said.

Mark Drakeford said the deal, which was agreed just days before the transition period ends, was better than the no-deal alternative.

“Faced with a binary choice between no deal and this – indeed any deal – we would prefer a deal,” Mr Drakeford said.

“It is appalling that it has taken until a week before we leave the transition period to give the first indication of the terms on which we will trade with our most important trading partner. This will only add to the enormous challenges facing our businesses.

“And while we don’t have any of the detail we know this deal is not the one we would have negotiated – after December 31, Welsh businesses will still face major new barriers to trade; Welsh citizens will no longer be able to travel freely in Europe; and there will be little in it for service sector businesses.

“Even so, this deal is better than the catastrophe which would have been a no-deal.”

Boris Johnson has recorded a Christmas message for the country in which he described the newly-agreed post-Brexit trade deal as “glad tidings of great joy”.

Speaking in a video on Twitter, he said he had a “present for anyone who may be looking for something to read in that sleep post-Christmas lunch moment”.

Picking up a copy of the 500-page document, he added: “The oven-ready deal was just the starter. This is the feast – full of fish, by the way.

“I believe it will be the basis of a happy and successful and stable partnership with our friends in the EU for years to come.”

In Wales the Senedd is to be recalled to debate the implications of the UK Brexit trade agreement.

The Llywydd (Speaker), Elin Jones MS, has agreed to a request from First Minister Mark Drakeford to recall the Senedd next week to debate the implications of the UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement.

Members of the Senedd will meet for a virtual Plenary session on the morning of December 30.

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The EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement sets out arrangements for tariff-free, quota-free trade in goods, but has little to say about services and does not settle key questions on financial services and data, which are expected to be subject to separate agreements.

Boris Johnson has sacrificed Britain’s fishing industry to get a Brexit trade deal with the EU, industry leaders have said.

Eurotunnel operator Getlink said the EU-UK trade deal will “benefit both businesses and travellers alike”.

The firm also said it was creating the Eurotunnel Border Pass, a “digital wallet” which will allow hauliers to store the information needed for goods to cross the border without having to present physical documents.

Jacques Gounon, chairman of Getlink, said: “Getlink, an authentic bi-cultural group, is very well placed to benefit from this agreement. We thank the negotiators on both sides, who often don’t get the recognition they deserve.”