Brexit Finally Happens: UK Exits From European Union

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson

The Brexit which stands for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union started following the June 2016 referendum, in which 52% voted to leave the EU.

The UK officially left the European Union after 47 years of membership in a historical moment at about 23:00 GMT.

The historical moment was marked by both celebrations and anti-protest.

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson said in a message released on social media an hour before the UK's departure: 

"For many people this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come.

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

"And then of course there is a third group - perhaps the biggest - who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end.

"I understand all those feelings and our job as the government - my job - is to bring this country together now and take us forward," Boris said.

He went further to say that;

"For all its strengths and for all its admirable qualities, the EU has evolved over 50 years in a direction that no longer suits this country.

"The most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning," he said, and "a moment of real national renewal and change."

The process which began in March 2017 after the UK government announced the country's withdrawal from the EU has finally been achieved.