Outrage as president Macron says Brexit is the product of 'lies and false promises' in annual address delivered hours after his own father denounced him as a 'self-serving' politician

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Emmanuel Macron sparked fury today by claiming Brexit was the product of 'lies and false promises' in a bitter broadside at Britain's departure from the EU. 

The French president lashed out at the UK's decision to quit the block on the night it finally took place, more than four years after the Brexit referendum.

He used his New Year address to his nation to castigate the UK's decision to go it alone after agreeing a trade deal which could damage the French fishing fleet - and his grip on power.

In the address delivered from the Elysee Palace, Paris, Mr Macron questioned the strength of Britain's sovereignty following its departure from the European Union.

'A few days ago, we reached an agreement to organise our future relations, defending our interests, our industries, our fishermen and our unity, he said in a video address,' he said.

'The United Kingdom remains our neighbour but also our friend and ally. This choice of leaving Europe, this Brexit, was the child of European malaise and lots of lies and false promises.' 

The video address came after his father, Jean-Michel Macron, 70, spoke publicly about his son for the first time since he entered office in 2017 and denounced him as a 'self-serving' politician.  

Mr Macron's outburst came as a new era of trading with the European Union began smoothly as lorries rolled into Dover and Dublin ports, ferries set off for France and Eurotunnel officials welcomed the first truck into the UK just after midnight.

Drivers with the correct paperwork - and a negative Covid test - were waved on to Eurotunnel trains with little delay after 11pm GMT as freight travelled seamlessly between the UK and France after four years of preparations. 

Traffic is expected to be light over the Bank Holiday weekend before ratcheting up on Monday.

Brexiteer Tory MP Peter Bone criticised the French president's remarks, telling MailOnline: 'The greatest democratic event in my lifetime, the EU referendum, saw more people vote in the UK than ever before. 

'There was genuine debate on a particular issue, it wasn't party political, it was across-parties and the people spoke. I guess president Macron doesn’t like democracy.’ 

Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted to begin 2021 in an upbeat mood today, insisting it can be 'a year of change and hope' following the horror show that was 2020.

He said that Brexit meant that good times could be on the horizon, along with hopes that new vaccines will put paid to coronavirus.

He even claimed that the EU departure more than four years after the referendum meant 'the end of the rancorous bickering about ''Europe'' that has bedevilled our politics for so long'.   

Prime Minister Boris Johnson attempted to begin 2021 in an upbeat mood today, insisting it can be 'a year of change and hope' following the horror show that was 2020

This is the historic moment the first truck to leave Britain post-Brexit trade deal arrived in Calais at just after midnight UK time

French president Emmanuel Macron has told how Brexit is the product of 'lies and false promises' in an annual address delivered hours after his father denounced him

Mr Macron, who has grand ambitions for greater EU integration, launched the attack days after being blamed for holding up a Brexit deal with fishing demands.  

The French president was accused of using a ban on British freight, designed to stop the mutated Kent strain of coronavirus reaching France, to ratchet up the tensions in the Brexit negotiations.   

He used his address to defend France's glacially slow rollout of coronavirus vaccine shots, pledging to pick up the pace with quicker inoculation to a broader array of health care workers starting next week.  

Only a few hundred French people have received vaccines in France after the EU regulator was slower to approve the German-made Pfizer Biontech shot than US and UK regulators. Almost a million people have received the Pfizer shot in the UK.  

Mr Macron assured that France is 'first of all in Europe' and added: 'I will do everything to ensure we remain the masters of our destiny and our lives. 

'But this sovereignty also acts through the stronger, more autonomous and more united EU that we have built in 2020.'  

Commentators have suggested that Mr Macron's father has become irritated by how the French head of state has portrayed his maternal grandmother, school teacher Germaine Noguès, as the woman who developed his intellect rather than his parents.

Jean-Michel is a professor of neurology at the University of Picardy, and is divorced from Macron's mother Françoise Noguès who is also a doctor.

Ms Nogues and Macron's wife Brigitte, 67, are also known to be friendly but the French president rarely talks about his parents.

In the interview with Le Monde, Jean Michel condemned the 'narcisissm' of French politics and criticised Emmanuel for allowing himself to be photographed in glossy magazines.

He said 'Emmanuel is a great actor, a seducer. That is useful in politics.

'Emmanuel is capable of drawing from everyone who might be of service to him.' 

Britain left the EU at 11pm last night, four-and-a-half years after Britons voted by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent in the June 2016 referendum which was called by the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

The chimes of Big Ben rang out at 11pm – midnight on the Continent – marking the UK's departure from the EU's single market and customs union.

In his New Year message, Boris Johnson - who played a decisive role in the Leave campaign's victory in the referendum - hailed Britain's departure, calling it 'an amazing moment'. He added the UK now had 'freedom in our hands' and 'it is up to us to make the most of it'.

Referencing the end of the Brexit transition period, the Prime Minister said the UK would be 'free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU' in 2021. 

Mr Johnson declared in his message: 'This is an amazing moment for this country. We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it.' 

Under the post-Brexit agreement struck on Christmas Eve, the EU will give up only 25 per cent of the value of fish caught in UK waters – with a five-and-a-half-year transition period rather than 80 per cent over three years initially demanded by the UK.

French fishing bosses welcomed the deal after they had feared No Deal because they would have been locked out of British waters.

Drivers smiled and waved to customs officials who checked their documents digitally before allowing them to cross the 31 miles between Folkestone and Calais by rail last night. In France the first trucks were met by the Mayor of Calais, Natacha Bouchart. 

In his New Year video address from the Elysee Palace, Paris, Mr Macron questioned the strength of Britain's sovereignty following its departure from the European Union

Jean-Michel Macron (pictured in 2017 with his ex-wife and Macron's mother Francoise Nogues-Macron) spoke publicly about his son for the first time since he entered office in 2017 and denounced him as a 'self-serving' politician 

The first ferries between Calais and Dover and the UK and Ireland also arrived with no delays as Britain finally broke free from EU rules at 11pm on Thursday, just a day after MPs voted through the last-minute deal Boris Johnson secured with the Bloc to avoid a No Deal Brexit.

The UK's ambassador to France, Lord Llewellyn, said things were 'running smoothly' as the post-Brexit arrangements entered into force.

He visited the port at Calais and the Eurotunnel terminal 'to see the situation on the ground'. 

However there were reports of a small number of lorries being unable to board at Holyhead bound for Ireland because they did not have the correct paperwork.

The seismic breakaway came nearly four-and-a-half years after Britons voted by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent in the June 2016 referendum which was called by the then Prime Minister David Cameron.

Big Ben chimed at 11pm, when the Prime Minister is understood to have marked the occasion with his family in Downing Street.

Celebrations were muted by the coronavirus pandemic but Eurosceptic MPs, once derided as fringe eccentrics on the margins of the Conservative Party, expressed their delight.

Sir Bill Cash said it was a 'victory for democracy and sovereignty', while Sir John Redwood said he looked forward to using the 'new freedoms and opportunities now open to global Britain'.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who played a key role in the 2016 referendum, said: 'Yes, we spare a thought for Northern Ireland and our fishermen, but this is a moment to celebrate 2021 as an independent United Kingdom. It's a shame the pubs aren't open.'

In his New Year message, Mr Johnson - who played a decisive role in the Leave campaign's victory in the referendum - hailed Britain's departure, calling it 'an amazing moment'. He added the UK now had 'freedom in our hands' and 'it is up to us to make the most of it'.

Referencing the end of the Brexit transition period, the Prime Minister said the UK would be 'free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU' in 2021.

The breakaway came as the port of Dover was pictured completely devoid of traffic amid fears of immediate post-Brexit queues, with the traffic expected to pick up on Monday.

Boris Johnson signed his Brexit trade deal with the EU as he brought the curtain down on four years of wrangling over the UK's split from Brussels

The first cross channel ferry departs the Port of Dover heading for France, following the end of the Brexit transition period, from Dover

A police officers staffs the entrance to the Port of Dover, southeast England, on January 1 where they are checking drivers have documentation showing a negative Covid-19 test

Nicola Sturgeon urges the EU to 'keep the light on' and says Scotland will be 'back soon' as the Brexit transition period comes to an end

Nicola Sturgeon defiantly urged the European Union to 'keep the light on' for an independent Scotland as Brexit finally took place.

The Scottish First Minister -  who wants a new independence referendum - said her nation would be 'back soon' as the UK quit the bloc after more than 40 years. 

Membership of the single market and customs union expired at 11pm - four and a half years after the in-out referendum which sought to settle the issue but sparked political turmoil.

The bells of Big Ben were rung as the UK left both the EU's single market and the customs union.  

The chimes of Big Ben rang out at 11pm – midnight on the Continent – marking the UK's departure from the EU's single market and customs union. 

But the SNP leader Ms Sturgeon, who is strongly opposed to Brexit, wrote on Twitter: 'Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on.'

It came as hardcore Remainers insisted that the campaign to rejoin the EU would begin immediately. 

Nicola Sturgeon urged the European Union to 'keep the light on' and said Scotland would be 'back soon' as the Brexit transition period came to an end on Thursday.

Scottish first minister Miss Sturgeon, who is strongly opposed to Brexit, wrote on Twitter on Thursday: 'Scotland will be back soon, Europe. Keep the light on'

Labour peer and former minister Lord Adonis tweeted: 'The campaign to rejoin Europe starts today.'

Ms Sturgeon heads into Holyrood elections in May expecting to win an overwhelming majority for the SNP, which will increase the pressure on Boris Johnson to allow a new independence referendum, something he is refusing to do.

The nation voted 45-55 in favour of staying part of the UK in 2014, but the latest opinion polls show a majority in favour of a split.

In contrast to her paean to Brussels, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross issued an upbeat New Year message.

'As the bells ring out at midnight to mark the start of 2021, we should look forward with hope,' he said.

'If we pull together as a country, instead of trying to reopen old constitutional wounds, we can rebuild a better, brighter future.'

Ms Sturgeon's latest hint at her urge to press ahead with making Scotland and independent country came after she savaged Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Christmas Day.

Hitting out at the agreement reached on Christmas Eve, Miss Sturgeon said the deal showed it was time for Scotland to 'chart our own future as an independent, European nation'.

She said Britain's departure was happening against her will and accused the PM of 'cultural vandalism' for ending the Erasmus programme, which allows students to study in Europe.   

'Scotland did not vote for any of this and our position is clearer than ever,' she said. 

'Scotland now has the right to choose its own future as an independent country and once more regain the benefits of EU membership.

'It beggars belief that in the midst of a pandemic and economic recession, Scotland has been forced out of the EU single market and customs union with all the damage to jobs that will bring.

In contrast to her paean to Brussels, Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross issued an upbeat New Year message

The bells of Big Ben were rung the UK left both the EU's single market and the customs union

'A deal is better than No Deal. But, just because, at the 11th hour, the UK Government has decided to abandon the idea of a No Deal outcome, it should not distract from the fact that they have chosen a hard Brexit, stripping away so many of the benefits of EU membership.

'And while we do not yet have full details on the nature of the deal, it appears major promises made by the UK Government on fisheries have been broken and the extent of these broken promises will become apparent to all very soon.'

She said people in Scotland had voted overwhelmingly to remain in the EU, 'but their views have been ignored'. 

The historic post-Brexit deal with the EU on Christmas Eve came four years after 62 per cent of Scots backed remain in the 2016 referendum.

Miss Sturgeon added: 'This is a far harder Brexit than could have been imagined when the EU referendum took place, damaging and disrupting this nation's economy and society at the worst possible time.

'We are doing everything we can to mitigate against the consequences of the UK Government's actions – but we cannot avert every negative outcome.

 Her latest hint at her urge to press ahead with making Scotland and independent country came after she savaged Boris Johnson's Brexit deal on Christmas Day

'We know that businesses are already struggling under the burden of Covid-19, and are now faced with the need to prepare for this hard Brexit in little more than a week's time.

'We will do all we can to help them and are issuing updated information and advice and urge those most affected, including businesses, to prepare.' 

Writing on Twitter about the Erasmus programme, Miss Sturgeon said: 'There will be lots of focus, rightly, on the economic costs of Brexit.

'But ending UK participation in Erasmus, an initiative that has expanded opportunities and horizons for so many young people, is cultural vandalism by the UK Government.'

Miss Sturgeon's Scottish Nationalist Party plans to go into next year's Holyrood elections aiming for a fresh mandate from voters for a second independence referendum.

The first minister has previously said that if Scotland opted for independence she would try to re-join the EU. 

However, questions remain about whether an independent Scotland would be allowed to become a member of the bloc. 

The SNP's existing currency policy - it seeks to keep the pound - conflicts with the EU's diktat that all new members must adopt the Euro.  

Membership would also mean giving up control of swathes of policy areas such as over fisheries and possible trade barriers with England.

It could also mean a hard border is imposed between England and Scotland.   

In his New Year message, Mr Johnson - who played a decisive role in the Leave campaign's victory in the referendum - said: 'This is an amazing moment for this country. We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it' 

It remains to be seen if the Brexit deal will increase support for independence among Scots.

In his New Year message, Mr Johnson - who played a decisive role in the Leave campaign's victory in the referendum - said: 'This is an amazing moment for this country. We have our freedom in our hands and it is up to us to make the most of it.' 

Referencing the end of the Brexit transition period, the Prime Minister said the UK would be 'free to do things differently, and if necessary better, than our friends in the EU' in 2021.

He said Britain will 'work with partners around the world, not just to tackle climate change but to create the millions of high-skilled jobs this country will need not just this year – 2021 – as we bounce back from Covid, but in the years to come'.

The PM added: 'I think it will be the overwhelming instinct of the people of this country to come together as one United Kingdom – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland working together to express our values around the world.'

He concluded: 'I believe 2021 is above all the year when we will eventually do those everyday things that now seem lost in the past. Bathed in a rosy glow of nostalgia, going to the pub, concerts, theatres, restaurants, or simply holding hands with our loved ones in the normal way.

'We are still a way off from that – there are tough weeks and months ahead. But we can see that illuminated sign that marks the end of the journey, and even more important, we can see with growing clarity how we are going to get there. And that is what gives me such confidence about 2021.'

Under the new arrangements, freedom of movement rights will end, and while UK citizens will still be able to travel for work or pleasure, there will be different rules.

Passports must be valid for more than six months, visas or permits may be needed for long stays, pets will need a health certificate and drivers will need extra documents.

The automatic right to live and work in the EU also ceases, and the UK will no longer take part in the Erasmus student exchange programme.