POST-BREXIT TRADE BILL GETS APPROVAL FROM QUEEN, UK PARLIAMENT

The post-Brexit trade bill has received the royal assent from Queen Elizabeth II, Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said in the early hours of Thursday, meaning it is now officially law in Britain, Isobel Frodsham and Leonie Kijewski reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).

The legislation, officially called the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020, sets out the trade rules between Britain and the bloc from January 1. On Wednesday, it was presented to British Parliament where elected lawmakers in the House of Commons voted 521 to 73 - a majority of 448 - in support of the deal. It then received an unopposed third reading in the House of Lords after nearly eight hours of debate.

Shortly after the House of Lords result, the Queen gave it her official stamp of approval, officially turning the bill into British law.

In response to the approval from the House of Lords, Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked lawmakers and peers for passing his post-Brexit trade deal. "The destiny of this great country now resides firmly in our hands," he said.

"We take on this duty with a sense of purpose and with the interests of the British public at the heart of everything we do. 11pm on December 31 marks a new beginning in our country's history and a new relationship with the EU as their biggest ally. This moment is finally upon us and now is the time to seize it."

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