Jeffrey Donaldson pledges to be strong advocate of pro-Union, anti-Protocol views on St Patrick's week trip to meet Biden team in the USA

He jetted off on Monday alongside Gordon Lyons for a schedule of meetings with American politicians in the US capital ahead of St Patrick’s Day on Friday – a day typically marked with galas and photo ops by US presidents.

Meanwhile, other DUP figures including Ian Paisley and Phillip Brett are in the States in response to separate invitations.

Sir Jeffrey said: “I’ll be part of a strong DUP delegation who are taking the unionist case to the US this week.

"We’ll be meeting with the administration, the State Department, the White House, and also with both representatives, congressman and senators, on Capitol Hill and we’ll be explaining the unionist position to them – not least our continued opposition to the Northern Ireland Protocol, and what we need in terms of getting a solution.

"We’ve been examining the Windsor Framework but we want to see the legislation that will accompany these proposals to determine if in fact it meets the needs for everyone in Northern Ireland, to enable us to trade within the UK and it’s internal market, that we remove those barriers to trade.

"So this will be a good opportunity to explain to key political influencers in Washington what the current position of unionists is, to put the unionist case strongly to them, and also to promote Northern Ireland as a good place for investment and to do business.

"We hope that a solution can be found that will help all of us in Northern Ireland move forward.

"But we need the ongoing concerns to be properly addressed and need to see the legislation that will do this.”

Any deal must...

• 1 – Fulfil Article 6 of the Act of Union (which says all parts of the UK shall be under the same “regulations of trade, and liable to the same customs and duties”);

• 2 – Avoid any diversion of trade;

• 3 – Not constitute a border in the Irish Sea;

• 4 – Give the people of Northern Ireland a say in the making of the laws that govern them;

• 5 – Result in “no checks on goods going from NI to GB or from GB to NI” (and remaining in NI);

• 6 – Ensure no new regulatory barriers develop between NI and the rest of the UK unless agreed by the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly;

• 7 – Preserve the letter and spirit of Northern Ireland’s constitutional guarantee, requiring the consent of a majority of the people of NI for any diminution in its status as part of the UK.