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Brexit day in pictures: Crowds, costumes and placards as UK enters 'new era'

Britain has left the European Union.

Hundreds of Brexiteers descended on Westminster on Friday to commemorate the historic event in a good-natured manner at Parliament Square.

It marked the end of three-and-a-half tumultuous years of political upheaval.

Speaking at the rally, Nigel Farage said Britain’s departure from the EU was “the greatest moment in the modern history of our great nation”.

Addressing the crowd from a stage before the 20 second countdown, Mr Farage said: “This is something that I fought for – for 27 years and something that many thousands of you gave your time and money for.

“We faced an established that didn’t even want to listen to us. An establishment that never wanted that referendum to take place. An establishment that tried for three and a half years to frustrate the will of the greatest democratic mandate ever seen.”

At 11pm, bongs from Big Ben were played out through speakers. It was followed by a rendition of the national anthem, with the lyrics produced on a large screen above the stage.

The crowds had started arriving hours earlier, defying the rain to be present.

In Scotland, which voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum, candlelit vigils were held.

The Leave a Light On gatherings took place in Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, and Stirling, among other locations.

In Northern Ireland, the campaign group Border Communities Against Brexit staged a series of protests in Armagh, near to the border with the Republic of Ireland.