The Brexit trade deal has been formally signed by EU chiefs ahead of its approval in Parliament.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and signed the 1,246-page document in Brussels this morning ahead of a debate in the House of Commons.
The document was also signed by European Council President Charles Michel, representing the 27 nations of the EU.
The European Parliament will not give its approval before January 1, only scrutinising the deal later.
Ms von der Leyen tweeted: “Today, @eucopresident and I signed the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Prime Minister @BorisJohnson will sign it later today in London.
“It has been a long road. It’s time now to put Brexit behind us.
“Our future is made in Europe.”
One of the Queen’s VIP planes will be used by the RAF to airlift the historic Brexit trade treaty to London today after it was signed.
The formal document will be flown across the Channel aboard a BAe146 from No32 (The Royal) Squadron - known as The Queen’s Flight.
Expected to land at RAF Northolt in North West London, the treaty will be driven to Downing Street where it will be signed by Boris Johnson.
Experts believe officials copied and pasted chunks of text from old legislation into the document as it describes Netscape Communicator – last released in 1997 – and defunct Mozilla Mail as “modern” services.
Before putting pen to paper, the PM will kick off a five-hour Commons debate on the agreement.
Mr Johnson will tell MPs the 85-page EU (Future Relationship) Bill offers a “historic resolution” and “demonstrates how Britain can be at once European and sovereign”.
He is set to say: “This bill embodies our vision – shared with our European neighbours – of a new relationship between Britain and the EU as sovereign equals.”
Lawyers assembled by the Tories’ hard-right European Research Group backed the deal.
They concluded the agreement “preserves the UK’s sovereignty and respects the norms of sovereign-to-sovereign treaties”. Labour leader Keir Starmer is braced for a handful of frontbench resignations after ordering his MPs to support the Government in the vote.
There are concerns the deal will fail to protect key economic sectors. Ex-Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell is among those who have signed a letter urging opposition parties not to support the “rotten” agreement.
Mr Starmer has argued the alternative of ending the Brexit transition period without a deal in place would be even worse for the economy.
He said: “I’m determined the next general election will be fought on our terms, not somebody else’s terms. We’ve left the EU, and the Remain/Leave argument is over. Among the reasons for voting for the deal is to allow that closure.”
A vote is expected in the Commons in the early afternoon. The legislation will then be debated in the Lords, with a vote likely after 10pm, and Royal Assent to follow.
On Monday, EU ambassadors gave provisional approval for Britain’s post-Brexit trade deal to be implemented from January 1.
The EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier said the agreement brought “a little stability”.
Britain formally left the EU on January 31. The departure triggered the start of an 11-month transition, which ends at 11pm tomorrow.
The agreement allows for continued tariff-free trade with the EU when the transition expires.
