Letter: Scientists keen to join EU's Horizon programme fail to appreciate Windsor Framework’s effects on Northern Ireland

How much do UK scientists care about Northern Ireland?

That may seem a strange question, especially coming from somebody whose doctorate is in physical chemistry, but it is prompted by the linkage between the Windsor Framework and the EU's Horizon scientific research programme.

Or perhaps those UK scientists and engineers who are understandably keen to see a deal on Horizon do not fully appreciate that the Windsor Framework is designed to split Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK?

It is not even as though we would benefit financially from association with the Horizon programme, the government having quietly admitted that we would probably be a net contributor of research funds.

Just as successive governments pretended that we got money from the EU, when it was always just part of our own money returned with EU strings attached - always, that is, apart from one special year, 1975.

We are in this predicament firstly because Theresa May was, I believe, on the side of the EU at least as much as she was on our side - otherwise, she would have ridiculed Leo Varadkar's nonsense about the border.

And then the charlatan Boris Johnson was only ever on his own side, and having objected to the whole of the UK becoming a "vassal state" agreed to just Northern Ireland becoming a "vassal statelet".

While Rishi Sunak is reverting to Tory type by pretending that the Northern Ireland economy will benefit hugely from his agreement when any effect will be marginal, and most likely marginally negative.

The correct solution to the minor problem of the land border was identified within days of Irish politicians issuing their threats in late 2017, namely UK export controls on goods destined for the Republic.

Dr DR Cooper, Maidenhead, Berkshire