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 tweeted a picture of himself smiling with both thumbs lifted in the air.

“The deal is done,” he wrote.

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.”