Jamie Bryson: The Irish Sea border remains, and the DUP are implementing it

Gavin Robinson was front and centre in regards the Surrendering the Union deal.

It’s accepted by everyone that the manner the DUP sold that deal had no reflection to the reality of what they had achieved, or perhaps more accurately not achieved.

The pre election efforts to finesse this position in fact included yet more claims, such as in September or October a direction would be issued to deliver on the promise of ‘zero checks and zero customs paperwork’ on goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland and remaining here.

On BBC TalkBack Mr Robinson said the Irish Sea border would be gone when these steps were implemented. This was of course always nonsense, but those steps have not even been implemented. Where is this direction?

We now see DUP statements committing themselves to campaigning to remove EU law. This is the same DUP who claimed to have ‘cut the pipeline of EU law’. Another demonstrable falsehood.

The reality is that the DUP are fully fledged Protocol implementers. They are operating institutions which embeds and legitimises a border in the Irish Sea, hoping that the issue will just fade away and they can get on with enjoying the trappings of power.

Today every unionist will be seeking some truth from Mr Robinson. This means an acceptance that the DUP misled the unionist community, that the Irish Sea border remains and an explanation as to how the DUP, as a unionist party, justifies implementing the subjugation and suspension of the Union.

Jamie Bryson, Donaghadee