Letter: The Ulster Unionists and DUP have been weak on the Irish Sea border and legacy

How long can the DUP and UUP continue in government and work the Windsor Framework?

I have little doubt that some of their big egos stop them from doing what is right and admitting that Jim Allister’s assessment of the border remaining and even tightening, leading to an all Ireland economy, was correct.

We also have coming down the line a weak Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, being led by the nose by Dublin. That might lead some people to fear that he is like his late father, who was an advocate of a united Ireland and who invited Gerry Adams to Westminster.

Is he going to allow republicans costly enquiries while innocent victims of IRA terrorism have little hope of receiving justice?

We have seen them already making a difference of importance by having a public inquiry into the Finucane murder, which is only one of many murders in the Troubles, and which has already had multiple investigations.

Many believe that the Republic are culpable for not preventing IRA murders and ethnic cleansing of Protestants during the Troubles by colluding with the IRA and their refusal to send IRA wanted terrorists back to face justice in Northern Ireland. They have been less than helpful with inquiries into Kingsmill etc. Unlike this treacherous British government, the Republic refuse to hang out their dirty washing in public.

We see DUP ministers going about like statesmen and stateswomen full of their own importance as republicans literally are getting away with murder.

The coming weeks will tell a story of Benn and what he has conceded to Dublin. So far he has treated unionists with disdain with little fight back from unionists. No wonder the TUV have gained ground on the other two unionist parties because people are seeing them for what they are: weak on the Union and deceiving people about the border in the Irish Sea.

If as expected the new legacy agreement is a whitewash and their is a hardening of the sea border, then the chickens will have come home to roost and we will see just what the the DUP and UUP are made.

John Mulholland, Doagh