Letter: It is welcome that Boris Johnson accepts responsibility for the protocol, now he might apologise to Ireland for Brexit

Forgive me if I'm not convinced by your charitable explanation for Boris Johnson agreeing to the NI protocol/Irish sea border! (‘Boris Johnson's admission of fault over Northern Ireland Protocol gives some weight to his criticism of the new deal’, March 3, see link below)

As you say Boris is intelligent and would have understood the negative consequences of his "oven ready deal". It is a simple fact that an Irish border is an inevitable outcome of Brexit.

Did he agree to the protocol due to political paralysis or to win power in the 2019 general election? More generally did Boris promote Brexit out of conviction or to advance his career? Was Boris vindicated by his NI Protocol Bill or did it diminish the UK's international reputation? Is Boris criticising the Windsor Framework on it's merits or to undermine Rishi who he still blames for his resignation?

It is a welcome first step that Boris accepts responsibility for the protocol. The next step might be to apologise to the people of Ireland for promoting Brexit with little regard for the balance of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Paul O'Shanahan, Limerick

Editorial: Boris Johnson's admission of fault over NI Protocol gives some weight to his criticism of the new deal