Editorial: The UK should think in terms of what it might as of Ireland, its perpetual critic, to defend its airspace

For years, indeed decades, UK governments and ministers have gushed about their relations with Ireland. At the same time, it is a golden rule that London never criticises Dublin but the latter can certainly criticise the former.

Such criticism took off after Brexit, and particularly after Leo Varadakar and Simon Coveney took office in 2017 (less so under Micheal Martin). In 2019, Mr Varadkar from Hillsborough Castle scolded the UK's handling of Brexit. He was allowed to stand on property ultimately owned by the crown and to lecture the UK, with no minister there to respond. And only the News Letter pointed out this Irish over-reach. But Irish over-reach rarely gets criticised, not even by UK ministers.

It is particularly contemptible that Ireland has been allowed to scold the UK on legacy about its legacy plans without response (incidentally, unionists have let themselves be depicted as agreeing with such criticism of London's plans for handling the past). Dublin is scathing about the mooted so-called amnesty when Ireland has been at the helm of the post 1998 de facto amnesty for IRA terrorists. Ireland is also a state that for three decades refused to extradite known Irish terrorists, thus assisting their sectarian murder campaign against border Protestants.

It is worth citing this history when discussing the fact that Ireland, which is always high minded about Britain, is dependent on the RAF for military protection. Rishi Sunak is the latest prime minister to heap praise on Irish leaders. Why? They are not allies of the UK, or indeed Nato, on key geopolitical matters. It is time that London, instead of reticence around the Republic, reflected on the leverage that it has. For example it should ponder what it might demand of Ireland, about whose budget surplus we hear so much, in return for defending their neutrality.​