Samuel Morrison: There are those in the DUP who are prepared to accept that 2 + 2 is not 4 if that is the party decision

The trip had been planned weeks in advance but while we were there Ben again demonstrated his commitment to Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom by jointly commissioning a legal opinion on the ‘Donaldson Deal’ by the former Attorney General for Northern Ireland, John Larkin KC.

Mr Larkin confirmed that:

Article six of the Acts of Union remains suspended,

There is still a customs and regulatory border in the Irish Sea,

It is untrue to claim that the arrangements allow for zero checks and zero paperwork on goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland and

Northern Ireland continues to be treated as EU territory.

Tellingly, those who led the legal challenge to the protocol which exposed the fact that it drove a wrecking ball to the Acts of Union – Baroness Hoey, Ben Habib and Jim Allister (all of whom Sir Jeffrey was positively keen to tell that he agreed with them on the protocol up until a few weeks ago) – have called out the DUP deal for its inadequacy.

Mr Larkin’s opinion was published on the same day on which the DUP gave an interview on Stephen Nolan about his deal. Sir Jeffrey dismissed Mr Larkin’s comments, telling Stephen Nolan confidently that all seven tests had been met and Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market had been restored.

The DUP leader’s confidence in his deal’s ability to stop an all-Ireland economy was hard to square with the decision of his party to leave all three major economic portfolios – finance, economy and infrastructure – to Sinn Fein.

The department with most responsibility for supposedly removing the sea border under the new deal, agriculture, was handed to Alliance.

Those who expected the following week to see unionism on the front foot were disappointed.

The chairmanship of the much-trumpeted Windsor Framework Democratic Scrutiny Committee was left to Sinn Fein while the DUP deputy chair was in the post less than 48 hours when he denied the existence of the sea border.

Last Thursday the list of oral questions to the minister of agriculture was published. Not a single one of the 15 questions submitted by the MLAs who made it onto the shortlist – 10 of whom were unionists – thought it worth their while to quiz the minister on the sea border his department continues to have primary responsibility for.

Later on Thursday, Minister Muir confirmed in an answer to a written question from Jim Allister that the UK remains partitioned.

On Friday Minister of State Steve Baker, in a message to his constituents in Wycombe, said: “There is nothing in the deal that would result in British laws becoming aligned with EU law. There is also nothing in the deal preventing British law from diverging from any retained EU law.”

This, while Northern Ireland remains bound by hundreds of pages of EU law under the protocol.

On Saturday three members of the DUP party officer team had a joint article published in this paper which bluntly stated the truth (There can be no dispute about it, there is still a border in the Irish Sea, February 10).

Flatly contradicting their party leader who, during the week, had praised the prime minister for restoring Northern Ireland’s place inside the UK internal market, Lord Dodds, Lord Morrow and Sammy Wilson observed: “The government’s command paper does not undo the constitutional and economic damage of the protocol/Windsor Framework. Recognising that fact, we must fight on for our entitlement to be treated as equal citizens within the United Kingdom.”

The evidence of the preceding week suggests that that fight is not being fought by the DUP assembly team.

In fact, when the article was raised with MLA Philip Brett and he was asked explicitly if he agreed that the border in the Irish Sea still exists – something confirmed by the former Attorney General for Northern Ireland, Minister Muir who oversees the border posts which are being built as you read this, and confirmed by three of his own party officers – Mr Brett replied: “They are entitled to their opinion. It’s not an opinion shared by the ruling body of our party.”

The problem for Mr Brett of course is that this isn’t a matter of opinion but of fact.

I don’t know if Mr Brett is familiar with the works of George Orwell but I would heartily recommend that he pick up a copy of 1984. In it, the anti-hero Winston Smith works in the Ministry of Truth where it is his job to rewrite old newspaper reports in order to create a government approved record of events.

So successful is the party in creating the false narrative that even Winston is shocked when he discovers newspaper evidence which contradicts the confessions of three members of the Inner Party convicted of treasonable activity.

Gradually Winston turns against the party and grows to distrust it - something which means he falls foul of the Thought Police and ultimately ends up in Room 101 where he learns, in an exchange with a party official, that 2 + 2 is not always 4 in spite of the evidence of his own eyes:

"How can I help it? How can I help but see what is in front of my eyes? Two and two are four."

"Sometimes, Winston. Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane.”

The DUP rushed back into Stormont on the basis of a deal which doesn’t stand up to even the feeblest scrutiny. Not a single MLA has taken a stand for the principles on which they were elected.

Councillors elected on the basis of the DUP’s seven tests remain in a party which has degraded them. Mr Brett’s comments show that there are those who are prepared to accept that 2 + 2 is not 4 if that is the party decision. At least they are prepared to say as much if they believe it serves their interests.

There is also a simple truth which confronts Lord Dodds, Lord Morrow, Sammy Wilson and those within the party who share their view. Speaking out in a News Letter article is all well and good but what are you going to do in the battle which you rightly say must continue?

Samuel Morrison is press officer for the TUV