​Politicians need to end the spin and admit the scale of the internal UK trade barrier, a top haulier says today

Writing a letter to the News Letter that is published inside today, Mr Summerton says that the EU “has again provided much more clarity” with one official making clear that border controls at NI ports must be enhanced for the framework to get under way later this year.

Mr Summerton, the managing director of McCulla Ireland Transport, said that it has also been confirmed that “even in the badly named ‘green lane’ 100% of electronic documentary checks will remain and there will be identity and physical checks on goods”.

In a possible criticism of unionist leaders who have failed to condemn the trade border, Mr Summerton says “politicians who know what's happening need to come clean on the complexities required to move goods across the Irish Sea”.

Last week another haulier, Paul Jackson, wrote an article for the News Letter in which he said that far from getting rid of the protocol, the Windsor deal if anything reinforced it. Mr Jackson said that the changes were irreversible.

The outspoken commentary of such experienced road transport businessmen reflects an apparent concern in parts of their industry that Northern Ireland is about to make fundamental changes to the supply chain away from Great Britain that can never be changed back.

Meanwhile, a bid by the DUP to block a key part of the framework was heavily defeated in the House of Lords last night.

Peers rejected by 227 votes to 14 a fatal motion to regulations implementing the so-called Stormont brake, which would enable MLAs to trigger a veto over the imposition of new EU rules in the province.