The danger now is that Northern Ireland becomes a colony of the European Union — a rule taker with no say in the rules

All effort should now be focused on shaping the outcome of how the Irish protocol is implemented.

At worst we could see the EU interpretation of a full fat customs and regulatory border down the Irish Sea, effectively treating it as its own external border.

However I do believe the Conservative and Unionist Party and indeed the prime minister were forced into a cul-de-sac by our previous hung Parliament / Remainers.

At best I believe we can mitigate against most of it and insist on some form of representation.

For the proposed extended Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on animals and agri-food then a New Zealand style SPS Agreement can remove most such checks.

Both the Livestock and Meat Commission and the Northern Ireland Civil Service have highlighted existing precedents (Cyprus) along with existing EU regulations and schemes that allow pre-inspection at factories to vastly reduce physical inspections at the ports.

The News Letter previous carried an article entitled ‘The Frontstop alternative to the Irish Brexit backstop,’ February 23 2019 by John Hoey (brother of Brexiteer and former Labour MP Kate Hoey).

This article suggested that Northern Ireland ports should be allowed to act as forward checkpoints for the Republic of Ireland rather like Dublin Airport has United States pre-clearance for customs and immigration.

Goods destined for the Republic of Ireland/EU would be subject to normal EU procedures whilst goods destined to stay in Northern Ireland would not.

Checks would be based on risk analysis and market surveillance as per previous EU de-dramatising proposals which allowed many of these checks to be conducted through administrative processes (ie VAT invoices/returns) and at premises and destinations rather than “at the border”.

The trick will be reversing the Irish Protocols default of deeming all goods “at risk” of entering the Republic and therefore subject to a full fat EU border.

The UK must through the Joint Committee ensure as much day to day Northern Ireland trade is deemed not at risk.

Trusted Trader Schemes and pre-clearance and derogations to residential properties for Amazon and mail order deliveries.

Note that the UK currently only checks 4% of goods through customs declarations with under 1% involving physical checks and Ireland is even less.

The danger now is that Northern Ireland becomes an EU colony, a rule taker with no say.

There must be some form of elected democratic representation for Northern Ireland voters into EU regulations if we are to be subject to them.

Unionist politicians must now also emphasise that the EU interpretation of the Irish protocol runs counter to the British Isles context of the Good Friday Agreement, clauses of the Act of Union and also recent amendments to the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Act

Alan Day, Coagh