Moments after the UK left the EU with an 11th-hour deal, the first trucks hauling goods across the new customs border presented their clearance documents to French agents before loading on to a train to pass through the Eurotunnel.
With Britain having finally quit the EU single market and customs union, there were no early signs of feared chaos at the border in the first hours of 1 January 2021.
Ivanov Shumeykov was the first driver processed by officials late on New Year’s Eve. He smiled and waved as his HGV went through Eurotunnel controls in Folkestone, Kent just after 11pm. The first arrivals on the shuttle from France following the end of the Brexit transition period were expected at around 12.23am.
Scenes in Dover have been quiet as many…