It is alarming if there is any possibility that Friday's deal is binding

The Brexit Secretary David Davis told BBC1’s The Andrew Marr Show: “This was a statement of intent more than anything else. Much more a statement of intent than it was a legally enforceable thing.”

But Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, said that as far as Dublin was concerned it “is a binding agreement”.

He added: “We will as a government, a sovereign government in Ireland, be holding the United Kingdom to account, as will the European Union.”

It is alarming that there is so much as a possibility that the UK might not be able to retreat from the contradictory text that was agreed.

Ian Paisley Junior MP has boasted that Leo Varadkar was “done over” by the DUP, London and Brussels.

But Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, tweeted yesterday paragraph 46: “The commitments and principles outlined in this joint report ... are, as necessary, specific to the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland. They are made and must be upheld in all circumstances, irrespective of the nature of any future agreement between the European Union and United Kingdom.”

Other commentators have pointed to paragraphs in the agreement that say nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. But paragraph 46 does leave open the worrying suggestion that the Northern Irish elements to the agreement must be “upheld in all circumstances”. The paragraphs on the border give reassurance to unionists, and yet by some readings they give even greater reassurance to nationalists.

No wonder Arlene Foster said on Friday that “there are still matters we would like to have seen clarified”.

Friday’s agreement is far better than last Monday’s version, but is certainly no cause for celebration.