Anti-Protocol campaigners urge DUP to 'tell the truth' about the Irish Sea border

Jim Allister KC, Ben Habib, Baroness Hoey and Jamie Bryson have also urged the DUP to “tell the truth” about the continued existence of the Irish Sea border.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had claimed that his deal with the government – the Safeguarding the Union command paper – removed the Irish Sea border, despite continued trade friction and the erection of border inspection posts.

New interim leader Gavin Robinson has been much more cautious in his claims. However, he has said that the “green lane is gone” – something many in the DUP and outside do not accept. It has been rebranded the UK Internal Market System – but the extent to which checks on goods moving within it will be removed, remains unclear.

The East Belfast MP also said “constitutional harm” created by the government had been repaired by the DUP – something internal and external critics dispute.

The joint letter (click here to read the letter) says “It has been and remains our position that the claims made about the Donaldson Deal, Safeguarding the Union, are false”.

It says that the Irish Sea border “remains and is more deeply embedded. It is given false legitimacy by the DUP’s endorsement.

“The red and green lanes also remain, the latter now carrying the name it was originally given in the Windsor Framework”.

The four critics of the DUP question whether its interim leader and members of his party continue to support the deal – and call on “the DUP and its executive to discover their moral compass, tell the truth and act” on the Irish Sea border.

They say: “We stood on platforms with DUP members campaigning against the Irish Sea border. We have remained true to that end and the core demand of equal citizenship across the British isles. It is the DUP that has abandoned it, shattering the foundation upon which unity of purpose stood”.

The DUP leadership is currently trying to stabilise the party and ensure the stability of Stormont.

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