PRO-BREXIT MP John Whittingdale says the nation can “breathe a sigh of relief” when Britain leaves the EU tonight.

The Tory MP is convinced that there is a “bright future for the UK” after three years of “paralysis”.

Mr Whittingdale said: “In June 2016, the people of Britain voted by a majority of over a million votes that we should leave. In Maldon, the result was even clearer, with 62 per cent in favour.

“Yet in the three years since, the argument has gone on in a Parliament that was unable to agree on how - or even whether - we should carry out the people’s wishes.

“As vice-chairman of the Select Committee on Exiting the EU I had frequent meetings with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, and others in Brussels who seemed convinced by the propaganda that the British people wanted a second vote as they had changed their mind.

“All that changed following last month’s election.

“As I knocked on doors in Maldon, I found that people were fed up with the arguments and could not understand why their wishes were not being carried out. They overwhelmingly wanted to get Brexit done.”

The Conservative’s thumping majority after the General Election saw the Withdrawal Agreement finally pass through Parliament.

Mr Whittingdale said: “Of course there is still a lot of work to be done to agree the terms of our future relationship with the EU.

“For the rest of this year we will continue to comply with the obligations of membership even though we have left. That means we will still have freedom of movement, to pay into the Budget and to obey the European Court of Justice rulings for 11 months while we negotiate a new deal.

“However, we will do so as a result of our own choice and only until the beginning of 2021. I very much hope that a comprehensive free trade agreement with the EU can be reached in the course of this year.

“I also expect us to start negotiating agreements with other major countries such as the USA, China and India which we have been prevented from doing while we were a member state. As an independent country we will be able to determine our own policies on immigration, on agriculture and fisheries, and on regulations on employment, the environment and animal welfare.

“And we will save over £10 billion each year which is the net cost of our EU membership.”

He added: “I am convinced that there is a bright future for the UK as an independent sovereign nation.

“Of course we will continue to enjoy close relations with our European neighbours. But we will also look beyond the borders of the EU as a global player in our own right. Even more important, we will have at last respected the decision of the British people.

“I hope that this will begin to restore the voters’ faith and trust in our democratic process and that after three years of paralysis we can get on with addressing all the other priorities and challenges facing our Government.”