Brexit: Boris Johnson says UK has ‘taken back control’ and urges Britons to ‘make the most’ of new deal

PM claims deal will create ‘giant free trade zone’

Boris Johnson has declared that his trade and security deal with the EU means the UK has “taken back control” of its laws and regulations and urged Britons to “make the most” of the new arrangements.

Speaking at 10 Downing Street within an hour of the deal being sealed, the prime minister confirmed that he will recall parliament on 30 December to rush it into law in a single day.

Mr Johnson claimed that the deal would create a “giant free trade zone” in which the UK would be able to do “even more trade” with EU nations while also striking its own free trade deals elsewhere in the world.

He said: “We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny. We have taken back control of every jot and tittle of our regulation in a way which is complete and unfettered…

“We have today resolved the question that has bedevilled our politics for decades and it is up to us all together as a newly and truly independent nation to realise the immensity of this moment and to make the most of it."

Claiming that Brexit amounted to the UK “winning freedom”, Mr Johnson indicated that he intends to make use of the new relationship with the EU by diverging from its framework of rules and regulations.

“It is one thing to get freedom - winning freedom is a fantastic thing and that’s an important element of what we have done. But it is how we use it, how we make the most of it,” he said.

“That’s what is going to matter… I know we can do fantastic things with this new relationship.”

The PM told a No 10 press conference: “We have completed the biggest deal yet, worth £668 billion a year.

“A comprehensive Canada-style deal between the UK and the EU. A deal that will protect jobs across this country, that will enable UK goods to be sold without tariffs, without quotas in the EU market.

“A deal which will allow our companies to do even more business with our European friends.”

Mr Johnson wrongly claimed that the deal would introduce no “no-tariff barriers” to trade, when in fact it massively increases the amount of bureaucracy facing exporters, with more than 200m additional customs declarations to be filled out alongside much other paperwork each year.

And he said it would give “certainty” to business, which in fact now has to adapt to new arrangements with the UK’s most important trading partner in the space of eight days.