A post-Brexit trade deal has been agreed by negotiators from the UK and the European Union after months of talks and frantic last-minute wrangling.

The deal was secured on Christmas Eve, a week before current trading arrangements expire.

A UK source said the deal delivered “everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen were in close contact over recent days to help get the deal over the line.

But negotiations led by the EU’s Michel Barnier and the UK’s Lord Frost continued throughout the day as final details were hammered out.

Mr Johnson said the deal agreed with Brussels will enable the UK to “take back control” as promised in the 2016 referendum.

The Prime Minister told a No 10 press conference: “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 that is complete and unfettered.

“From January 1 we are outside the customs union and outside the single market.

“British laws will be made solely by the British Parliament interpreted by British judges sitting in UK courts and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice will come to an end.”

He added: "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 said: “This deal above all means certainty – certainty for the aviation industry, and the hauliers, certainty for the police and border forces, security services and all those we rely on across Europe to keep us all safe.”

He added: “Above all, it means certainty for business – from financial services to our world-leading manufacturers, our car industry, a certainty for all those who are working in high-skilled jobs in firms and factories across the whole country.

“There will be no palisade of tariffs on January 1, there will be no non-tariff barriers to trade.

“Instead, there will be a giant free trade zone of which we will at once be a member and at the same time be able to do our own free trade deals as one UK.”

At a press conference in Brussels, Miss Ursula von der Leyen said: “We have finally found an agreement.

“It was a long and winding road, but we have got a good deal to show for it.

“It is fair, it is a balanced deal, and it is the right and responsible thing to do for both sides.”

She added: “First of all, competition in our single market will be fair and remain so.

“The EU rules and standards will be respected. We have effective tools to react if fair competition is distorted and impacts our trade.

“Secondly, we will continue cooperating with the UK in all areas of mutual interest, for example in the field of climate change, energy, security and transport.

“Together, we still achieve more than we do apart.

“And thirdly we have secured five and a half years of predictability for our fishing communities.”

Ms von der Leyen concluded: “At the end of a successful negotiations journey, I normally feel joy.

“But today I only feel quiet satisfaction and – frankly speaking – relief.

“I know this is a difficult day for some.

“To our friends in the UK, I want to say: parting is such sweet sorrow.

“But to use a line from TS Eliot: what we call the beginning is often the end, and to make an end is to make a beginning.

“So to all the Europeans, I say: It is time to leave Brexit behind, our future is made in Europe.”