Letter: The fog around the Northern Ireland Protocol deal disguises the fact that EU rules will still apply here

When looking at the text of the Windsor Framework as with other UK/EU texts in the past, it is always a good idea to compare both the UK and EU interpretations.

And when you do it quickly becomes apparent the whole thing is a subterfuge of smoke and mirrors.

The texts are deliberately constructed that at a casual glance they look good, but once you begin to drill down into the detail they have nothing of substance. The fog of confusion is so dense that even the UK/EU have quite differing views in their own perspective texts.

On listening to the spin by the prime minister, you could be mistaken to think it is a wonderful deal with a lot of talk about the new and much lauded Stormont brake to address democratic concerns. The Stormont brake is another fudge that has so high a bar it will never be implemented by the UK government because of the astronomical economic costs and in effect will force the whole of the UK to dynamically align with EU rules, this is not Brexit but a further surrender of sovereignty and control to the EU.

If the framework is so good, where are the changes to the Withdrawal Agreement and the NI protocol necessary to make good on the prime minister’s bold claims. The protocol remains in effect and unchanged. There is no mention of any new Westminster legislation for the return of Northern Ireland to its full and rightful place in the United Kingdom by the restoration of the act of union and as such will still remain subjugated.

At the end of the day there is nothing in this framework for unionists, the sea border remains as does the democratic deficit.

EU rule will still apply, we are still more in the EU’s single market than the UK’s with the ultimate arbiter being the political European Court of Justice, a court that was established to promote closer EU integration.

Stevan Patterson, Castlederg, Co Tyrone