this is bbc news — these are the latest headlines in the uk and around the world. a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock tonight — when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people inengland wake up to the strictest level of restrictions — tier 4 — meaning they will have to mark the new year at home. the pandemic is also casting its shadow over new year's eve celebrations in europe — france is mobilising a hundred thousand police officers to enforce anti—coronavirus measures. some secondary school pupils in england face a delayed return to school, with mandatory remote learning for pupils who aren't in years 11 or 13. it comes ahead of a government roll—out of mass testing.

on monday of next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests, all the equipment that they need to set up. all the ppe that they need. formula one world champion, lewis hamilton receives a knighthood in the queen's new year's honours — alongside members of the public recognised for their efforts this year. hello and welcome if you're watching in the uk or around the world. borisjohnson‘s trade deal with the european union has become law. the bill has cleared parliament, after being approved by mps and peers. overnight it was given royal assent by the queen. the deal takes effect at 11pm — when the uk will stop following eu rules.

here's our political correspondent, chris mason. this was the moment, late into the night, when the brexit trade deal became the law of the land. her majesty has signified her royal assent to the following act — european union future relationship act 2020. the final confirmation that at 11 o'clock tonight, after four and a half years of argument since the referendum, the uk will begin a new relationship with the european union. if you're thinking, hasn't all this happened already, didn't we leave injanuary, well, yes, legally, brexit did happen 11 months ago. but in practical terms, it happens tonight as the uk leaves the eu's single market and the customs union. borisjohnson told the bbc‘s laura kuenssberg the deal will bring many benefits.

we'll be able to do things differently here, support our businesses here, develop our... whether it's biosciences, or free ports — all the things we want to do differently in the uk in order to drive our economy while not having any barriers to trade with the eu. but prime minister, that's factually not the case. there will be some new barriers. they will be, i can go through a list if you want. there will be more checks on the borders on animals and plants. if you're a musician who wants to perform in some european countries you'll need to get a work permit, which you don't need now. you will need to have more paperwork if you want to take your dog on holiday. it's not true that there will not be more barriers. you've got more political control but you can't sit there and say there won't be extra friction. there will be changes and we've been very clear to people that they have to get ready forjanuary the 1st, things will work differently. labour accusing mrjohnson of not being honest about the new barriers to trade and so misleading people.

but... after all the noise, the turbulence, flag—waving, the megaphones, the resignations, the elections of the last few years, the debate here in the last few days, with the overwhelming support for the government's deal, has felt something like a fire blanket, smothering many of the past flames of anger. plenty, of course, are still hugely passionate about brexit one way or another. the snp opposed the deal, among others, and this won't be the last time you ever hear the b word. but things may, just may, be a little quieter from now on. chris mason, bbc news at westminster. our correspondent simonjones is in dover.

simon, you spent a lot of time and over recently. you were talking, of course, about the challenges posed to cross—channel travel because of the new variant of covid merging. one of the things we talked about all through the year as we moved towards the end of the transition phase are the challenges that might be faced by people at the end of this phase trying to move between the uk and the continent. what are the uk and the continent. what are the key things to look out for on day one, after the end of the transition? not long to go now. 13 hours. we've seen a steady stream of lorries arriving at the port this morning, potentially people trying to beat that deadline of 11pm uk time. because we talk about frictionless trade between the uk and the eu, but the warning is that, from tonight, there could be a little bit of friction. because lorries are used to arriving here and getting on ferries pretty

quickly. but now, once this period comes into effect, the end of the transition period, lorries arriving here will already have to you have completed customs declarations. now, this may be a time—consuming affair. so, when the lorries arrive here they will have to show, via a bar code, that they have the right permissions to cross the channel. that will be important export declarations, also safety certificates. the idea is when the lorries come here, the bar codes they have will be scanned, the lorries will then get on the ferries, and while they are making that journey over to ferries, and while they are making thatjourney over to france, or in the opposite direction, the details they provided will be analysed by customs officials in france or the uk to check that everything is in order, and once they get off the ferry, if everything is in order, they will be allowed to continue their journey into they will be allowed to continue theirjourney into the eu, or into theirjourney into the eu, or into the uk. if not, they may be pulled over and have to undergo additional checks, all sought out additional

documentation. so, in theory, if they arrive here with everything in order, with the right paperwork, it should be pretty smooth flowing. but if they haven't got the right documentation, there could be issues. the reality is that the system is pretty untested. so i think it's going to take some time for hauliers and people transporting goods to get used to it. and that is where we may see some problems arising. simon, do we know how many of the promised 50,000 customs agents are promised by the government for the end of the transition, are actually in place? that's a good question. i was speaking to one haulage firm yesterday, looking into this. they say there are not any figures available. the theory is that there could be a shortage of people. the government in the uk has put forward a pot of money to help ease this process. on that money has all been claimed. so there are moves afoot.

but it is not clearjust how many customs officials have been brought on stream to try to deal with this. in terms of government officials, we are told the number of border force staff have been increased in the uk. france has also taken on thousands of extra officials to check the paperwork, while lorries are on the ferries or on the eurotunnel train. so, what we are hearing is that, initially, in the first few days, it might be rather quiet because we are talking about the new year period. there has been a degree of stockpiling in the run—up to the new year. but we may see potential problems emerging in the days or weeks to come, just as people realise just how much documentation they need to get across the channel. a lot will depend, with all of this being done electronically, on how the systems bear up with the amount of data and information they need to deal with. ok, simon, of data and information they need to dealwith. 0k, simon, thank you of data and information they need to deal with. ok, simon, thank you very much. simonjones, deal with. ok, simon, thank you very much. simon jones, at deal with. ok, simon, thank you very much. simonjones, at dover. we can speak now to our business

editor, simonjack. hello. borisjohnson, speaking to oui’ hello. borisjohnson, speaking to our political editor yesterday, saying that the deal but is in place represents the uk being able to have its cake and eat it. what do you make of that assertion by the prime minister? well, i think lawler was spot on when she said, yes, there is some tariff free and quota free access to the eu, but there is significant nontariff barriers, a mountain of paperwork, 220 million customs forms at a cost of up to £7 billion for british business. and if we wa nt billion for british business. and if we want to have our cake, change our regulations, we may get sent a bill for it. if it is thought that we undercut some of their standards or we seem to have a competitive advantage, they can raise a red flag and go to arbitration. we look at how bad the penalty should be, what fowl has been committed, should retaliation be put in place? we are

not free of eu surveillance on what the uk is doing. but i think there is an elephant that is not in the room, and barely mentioned in the deal. that is services. you think manufacturing is about 8% of the economy, agriculture is i%, the question about fishing, one tenth of 196 question about fishing, one tenth of i% of the economy. this is a service based economy. 80% of national income is derived that way. things like financial services, more than 100 times economically important than fishing, there is no automatic access to the single market. that generates about 10% of gdp, about 1296 generates about 10% of gdp, about 12% of all tax paid. so services are a real issue. that is what you have seen for financial services over the last few years, assuming the worst, setting up european subsidiaries. £1.2 trillion worth of customer and company money has already gone to the eu. that has not been associated with a big job is exodus that a lot

of people feared. but, over time, the financial services companies, debate, global banks have been putting a little drop of water in buckets all around the eu. over time, they may to that. so we are not going to see a great exercise. —— exodus. not going to see a great exercise. -- exodus. is that white theresa may said it was a trade deal that benefits the eu, rather than a services deal that benefits the uk? she is right in one respect. we have an enormous surplus. she is right in one respect. we have an enormous surplus. we sell much more in services to the eu than we get back from them. therefore, not having access in that area is actually not as good for us under this particular deal. however, she is pushing her look a little bit. even in her deal, the theresa may deal, which a lot of people think was a much softer form of brexit, question marks in the house, why the labour party feel they can vote for this one and not that one, but the

idea that our rules will be equivalent to eu rules and ourfirms will have access to them was never quite settled with the theresa may deal. she is right we are a service —based economy, she might be pushing it to say her deal and those questions, it clearly didn't. what deal does not address and will have to be addressed in the coming weeks and months, is our service economy interacts with the eu. there is a lot of uncertainty which is not addressed in the document. millions of people across the uk are being urged not to celebrate the new year with anyone outside their household, as the new variant of coronavirus continues to spread rapidly. some 20 million more people have now moved into the top tier 4 restrictions in england and have been told to "stay at home". borisjohnson said the tougher measures were vital to save lives. nhs leaders have urged people not to hold new year's eve parties tonight, saying that "covid loves a crowd". this report from john mcmanus.

hidden behind scaffolding and mostly silent since 2017, tonight, big ben will temporarily return to normal service as it rings in 2021. big ben chimes but there's no such reprieve for much of england, where the new year will start on a sombre note with millions more people moving into the highest coronavirus tier from today. it means they must now try to stay at home, with household mixing banned and nonessential shops and services closed. it's a tough ask, especially at this time of year. i must ask you to follow the rules where you live tomorrow night and see in the new year safely at home. that means not meeting up with friends or family indoors unless they're in the same household or support bubble, and avoiding large gatherings of any kind.

the latest figures for the whole of the uk show more than 50,000 new infections recorded in the latest 2a hours, with 981 new deaths reported on wednesday. you can see, unfortunately, it is a pretty grim and depressing picture at the moment. the situation in the uk is precarious in many parts already, particularly the south—east and london. areas that are now under the tightest restrictions now include leicester, the north—east and greater manchester. in total, just under 80% of the population in england. shropshire, devon and cornwall are amongst those moving up into tier 3. with no region now in tier 2, only 2,000 residents on the isles of scilly remain in tier1. millions of people in northern ireland,

wales and scotland are already living under the toughest restrictions. for those facing tier 4 for the first time, there's some unhappiness. i'm in shock. it is completely ridiculous, they keep locking us in and locking us out and going back and forth. they need to be more organised in what they do and figure out what's going on. it's not ideal for us but i think that it's important and people need to follow, because there are more important things like the hospitals and patients who are suffering. well, i haven't had the university experience, for one. and ijust turned 18 so i can't really do the normal things an 18—year—old does. but, i mean, it's fine. rising case numbers and a feared further rise after christmas are driving the new restrictions, but it will be sometime before we know which direction the virus will take in 2021. john mcmanus, bbc news. most secondary school pupils in england will return to the classroom after the christmas break, later than planned. years 11 and 13 can resume

face—to—face teaching one week late on the 11th january, while all other year groups will return the following week. but teaching unions have criticised the government's plans, with one labelling it a "last minute mess". the education secretary gavin williamson has been speaking this morning — he explained the importance of getting coronavirus testing for school children up properly in place before pupils return. on monday and next week, all secondary schools are going to be getting a drop of tests. all the equipment they need to set up, all the ppe that they need in order to have the staff. and, on top of that, those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to get this set up with the resources that are being provided, we are very grateful to the armed forces, 1500 service personnel, for those schools that are really having difficulty, aren't able to follow the guidance and the instructions, and use the equipment that has been provided, and the money that's been offered to them, to be able to help them get that massed testing programme set out in their school.

the latest headlines on bbc news... a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock tonight — when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people inengland wake up to the strictest level of restrictions — tier 4 — meaning they will have to mark the new year at home. the pandemic is also casting its shadow over new year's eve celebrations in europe — france is mobilising a hundred thousand police officers to enforce anti—coronavirus measures. lets pick up on that last headline now. as we have been mentioning, coronavirus is casting a long shadow over new year's eve celebrations this year, right around the world.

france, for example, is mobilising 100,000 police officers to enforce those measures against coronavirus and other countries are being forced to ta ke and other countries are being forced to take similar measures to try to prevent a new wave of infections. combating covid—19, spanish—style. security is tight in the capital, the traditional mass gathering in the plaza has been severely curtailed, and across europe it seems curfews are in place, both mandatory and voluntary, to persuade the public to stay away from public places. in paris, one such curfew will be strictly enforced by french police to crack down on parties and any large groups meeting unlawfully. 100,000 gendarmes are being mobilised, half the metro lines will be closed in the evening. families are being advised to stay at home and enjoy new year's celebrations around the dinner table, seafood being a seasonable

culinary favourite. in germany, they traditionally spend millions of euros on new year's eve fireworks every year but in berlin, they brought in a firework ban in an attempt to prevent crowds from forming. federal and regional leaders are discussing whether to extend lockdown measures imposed before christmas. in moscow, they are resisting imposing a strict lockdown like they did earlier this year, relying on targeted measures instead. despite a rising coronavirus cases, the mayor in the capital is quoted as saying there will be no curfew or alcohol ban either. some still turned up to watch the new year's eve restricted party preparations. as one muscovite put it, anything to fill normal in these extraordinary times. russell trott, bbc news.

let's get more in the post—brexit trade deal between the uk on the eu. the united kingdom will complete its transition from the european union single market and customs union at 11pm, bringing to an end a partnership that lasted for almost 50 yea rs. partnership that lasted for almost 50 years. legislation to ratify the uk post—brexit relationship with the eu has been signed into law. over the next few days will be hearing from all sorts of different people whose businesses and lives have been affected by brexit. i am joined now from germany by a social worker who left the uk in 2018 with her british husband because of brexit. and i'm alsojoined by owner husband because of brexit. and i'm also joined by owner and husband because of brexit. and i'm alsojoined by owner and creative director of peelo accessories, based in dublin. you are both very welcome. let me begin with you, take you back to that decision to leave the uk with your husband, who is british, as we mentioned. why did you decide to do that, and have you had any regrets? well, after the

referendum in 2016, the country has changed so much. i came to england at the back end of 1999. so i was there almost 20 years. i worked in there almost 20 years. i worked in the field, a successful career in social work and child protection for local authorities. i was never anyone else but sabina, and all of a sudden i became the german, the immigrant. it was really difficult. i really decided after a lot of thinking, what we wanted to be, that it is time to leave the uk. after brexit we knew it would not be easy for my british husband to settle in germany, because he would have lost all of the freedom of movement rights that germany guaranteed to all british people living in germany before the brexit transition ends. so, with a heavy heart, we said goodbye. my husband so his business.

i have quit myjob, he was trading successfully as a builder, he has left his business behind and we sold up left his business behind and we sold up and came to germany. just before igoto up and came to germany. just before i go tojulie, you said after the brexit referendum you became the immigrant in the uk, does your husband feel like an immigrant in germany? or does he feel that is the right place for him to be now? would the two of you consider coming back to the uk? well, he does not feel like an immigrant. he is learning the language. i think it is easier if you were as fluent in german as i am in english. but, no, we have no regrets. i don't know. at the moment, we are not planning on coming back to the uk. it is not the country that i loved for so many yea rs. country that i loved for so many years. it has changed beyond imagination. the tolerance that was there, the eccentric people, the beauty around being in the uk, it

has lost its magic, unfortunately. julie, to you now in dublin, you design handbags in dublin. the letters are sourced in italy on the bags are madejust letters are sourced in italy on the bags are made just outside of lisbon. but the biggest market is the uk. -- lisbon. but the biggest market is the uk. —— the latters. what concerns do you have? well, my concern, my concerns do you have? well, my concern, my number one priority is obviously my customers and their customer experience. if people ordered in manchester, or if they ordered in manchester, or if they ordered in manchester, or if they ordered in cork, it was very easy for me to fulfil the order and deliver them to the customers. it was very slick, it is all about the customer experience. my fear with brexit is the customs, forms and tariffs, and now that a deal has been made with tariffs, that is a big relief for me. it means i can continue to grow into the uk market.

obviously all the customs forms, thatis obviously all the customs forms, that is going to take a little while to figure that out. but i think it's going to be a positive. and i think ican going to be a positive. and i think i can continue to grow into the uk market. so you have a pretty optimistic assessment today. you are a new business, you only started in september. so, no business is looking for obstacles on their way, clearly, but not so early on in the process ? clearly, but not so early on in the process? absolutely not. my brother and his family live in london, i have neighbours from liverpool. and i think there is a real strong connection between the countries. there is definite potential and a big growth market for me. i only launched in september the 20% of my sales have been to the uk. i am cautiously optimistic now that there will not be any tariffs, and i can just figure out the customs and it will be a seamless experience, i hope, going forward for my customers. sabina, i only have time

for the briefest of answers, but you said after brexit you felt that the uk had lost its magic for you. do you think that there is any way you can get that feeling back?|j you think that there is any way you can get that feeling back? i don't know. i am so, so sad. the country has lost so much. everything that the country had before, it has lost. on this very thinnest of all deals. i don't know. i am ever so optimistic but, at the moment, i think it will dawn on the british people and on british industry that it is not as rosy as it was sold to be. sabine and julie, good to hear from both of you. thank you so much for your time. thank you both very much for talking to us today at bbc news. stay with us for more on

brexit, the end of the transition phase, throughout the day on bbc news, as well as comprehensive coverage on coronavirus. you are watching... it's time now for... we are not quite going to the weather yet. i am being slightly premature with that. let me tell you instead about new year honours. the honours list has been published, among the most high profile names, formula one champion lewis hamilton. lots of people that have helped society, helped throughout the year, through the covid challenge, honoured in the queens new year honours. people who have helped on food banks, people doing good works quietly in their communities,

honoured in the queen's new year's honours list. and we will bring you more about the recipients of those honours throughout the day here on bbc news. kris boyd to sunshine, across scotland, more snow across the hills. turning more to rein, slightly less. snow mixed in with showers across west wales on the higher ground of cornwall and devon. but mostly dry and bright. lingering fog patches across parts of eastern england and a cold day to all. frost and ice around. as we go into 2021, some snow flurries in scotland, rain and sleet in wales on the north midlands by the end of the night. as we start a brand—new year, temperatures close to, if not below freezing once again. a slippery start the new year. the zone from

south—western gwent, wales, where it will be cloudy asked with occasional showers, mainly rain or sleet. quite misty and murky for some towards east anglia and the south—east. a drier and brighter day for scotland and northern ireland. happy hogmanay.

this is bbc news, the headlines:

a bill to implement the brexit deal has passed through parliament and takes effect at 11 o'clock tonight, when the uk will stop following eu rules. millions more people in england wake up to the strictest level of restrictions, tier 4, meaning they will have to mark the new year at home. the pandemic is also casting its shadow over new year's eve celebrations in europe. france is mobilising a 100,000 police officers to enforce anti—coronavirus measures. some secondary school pupils in england face a delayed return to school, with mandatory remote learning for pupils who aren't in years 11 or 13. it comes ahead of a government roll—out of mass testing. formula 1 world champion lewis hamilton receives a knighthood in the queen's new year's honours, alongside members of the public recognised for their efforts this year. now on bbc news,