Speaking an hour before Britain left the EU on Friday, Boris Johnson has hailed a “new dawn” for the country. In a broadcast to the nation, the Prime Minister urged the country to look forward, adding it was “a moment of real national renewal”. The appeal for unity appeared in a video message posted on Mr Johnson’s official Facebook page, which began the final hour countdown to the official exit moment of the UK’s EU membership. The UK will officially leave the European Union at 11pm, ending 47 years of membership.

In his message, filmed inside Downing Street, Mr Johnson told viewers: “Tonight we are leaving! For many, this is an astonishing moment of hope, one they thought would never come.

“And there are many who feel a sense of anxiety and loss.

“And then there’s a third group, perhaps the biggest, who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would  never come to an end.

“Our job as the Government – my job – is to bring this country together and take us forward.

“And the most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning.

“This is the moment when the dawn breaks and the curtain goes up on a new act. It is a moment of real national renewal and change.

“This is the dawn of a new era in which we no longer accept that your life chances – your family’s life chances – should depend on which part of the country you grow up in.”

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He added: “This is the moment when we begin to unite and level up.”

Earlier today, Mr Johnson held a cabinet meeting at the National Glass Centre, a museum and arts centre in Sunderland.

Sunderland was the first city to back Brexit when results were announced after the 2016 referendum.

Mr Johnson told the Cabinet that it was time to start a “new chapter in the United Kingdom’s story” and end the division of the past three and a half years.

The Cabinet discussed future trade deals, including seeking a a Canada-style free trade agreement with the EU.

Mr Johnson thanked Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay for the work of his department, which is being wound up.

Tonight’s departure brings to an end more than three years of political argument, following the 2016 referendum, in which 52 percent of UK voters backed leaving the EU.

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Mr Johnson is hosting an evening reception in Downing Street for cabinet ministers, No 10 advisers, civil servants, those involved in the negotiations and supporters of the campaign to leave the EU this evening.

Pro and anti-Brexit demonstrations and marches are being held across the country.

Leading Brexiteer Nigel Farage is hosting the Brexit Day celebrations at Parliament Square tonight, as Brexiteers count down the clock.

The Brexit Party leader earlier tweeted: “At last the day comes when we break free. A massive victory for the people against the establishment.”

Brexit Party MEP Ann Widdecombe, Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin, broadcaster Julia Hartley-Brewer and Brexit Party chair Richard Tice will also be in attendance.

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