Jamie Bryson says the only unionists who could celebrate the DUP's deal to return to Stormont are ones who don't understand it

The loyalist activist caused a huge stir by tweeting out details of Monday night’s crunch meeting of the DUP party executive despite not being present.

He was apparently relying on individuals in the room who were providing him with a live feed of what was being said.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson had said that the deal “does provide a basis for our party to nominate members to the NI executive thus seeing the restoration of the locally-elected institutions”.

Mr Bryson was prolific in tweeting out his objections to various parts of the deal on Tuesday.

Asked to sum up his take in a nutshell, he told the News Letter: “The deal doesn’t remove the Irish Sea border. In fact, it embeds it.

"Sir Jeffrey this afternoon announced as a big win what amounts to an amendment to the green lane which operates as a fetter on trade – because it requires authorisations and customs information to even access it – therefore this is the soft version of the Irish Sea border, whilst the red lane is the hard Irish Sea border.

"But crucially there remains both the hard and soft Irish Sea border.

"I really do wonder about what technical understanding some actually have on these issues.

"We have come a long way from the DUP promising to restore the Act of Union and remove the Irish Sea border.

"We are instead meant now to celebrate it being codified deeper into UK constitutional law.

"Only someone who does not understand these issues could promote this as a win.”

Fellow loyalist Moore Holmes – who, like Mr Bryson, was involved in street rallies throughout 2022 in opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol – likewise made his feelings known on social media.

"The deal is of major consequence to everyone in Northern Ireland – unionists and nationalists alike.

"It needs public and legal scrutiny to offer a conclusive interpretation.

"Speculation and spin can only be killed by the full legal text.

"Publish the deal.”