Anti-protocol campaigner Ben Habib has questioned the commitment of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to the Union, the Protocol and the party’s link-up with the TUV – saying it appears that the alliance has been “rejected” under his leadership.

The two parties announced a pact ahead of this year’s general election – but relations have cooled since the former UKIP leader took over from Richard Tice at the top.

He caused embarrassment to Jim Allister’s party when he endorsed two DUP candidates – Ian Paisley and Sammy Wilson – in a “personal capacity” before the July poll. However, Mr Allister prevailed by ousting Mr Paisley in the DUP’s North Antrim heartland.

Writing in today’s News Letter, former Reform UK deputy leader Ben Habib says there is “no individual with a greater obligation than Nigel Farage” to “save Northern Ireland” and Brexit.

placeholder image — Relations between Reform UK and the TUV have cooled since Nigel Farage took over as leader. Photo: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

However, he criticises Mr Farage’s commitment to the Union – and says that since he became leader “our wonderful alliance seems to have been ended”.

The TUV declined to comment on the article. It is not the first sign of friction between the two parties – who only have a shared policy agenda in a limited number of areas. Mr Allister has previously rejected Nigel Farage’s stance on issues such as the war in Ukraine.

Jim Allister wasn’t invited to the Reform UK conference in September, raising questions about the state of the relationship between the two parties since Mr Farage took over.

However, the News Letter understands that there have been engagements between the TUV boss and Reform UK around their shared platform and how to move it forward. It does not appear that it is likely to be abandoned.

During his speech launching Reform’s general election campaign, Nigel Farage made no mention of Northern Ireland – despite a pledge in the party’s manifesto to scrap the Windsor Framework within the first 100 days of a Reform government.

Mr Farage also criticised the failure of Rishi Sunak to remove EU laws retained after Brexit – but made no mention of the situation in Northern Ireland which is subject to ‘dynamic alignment’ with Brussels laws in hundreds of areas.

However, during the campaign he told LBC that the Protocol was “absolutely disgusting at every level”.

“Theresa May sold the pass right at the very beginning…. If somehow if we didn’t carve Northern Ireland away, the Troubles would break out again. That was never ever a possibility.

“It was complete failure of the British negotiating position." Asked what should be done, he said: “We cannot have a border in the Irish Sea. We cannot have one part of the UK cut off from the other”.

Opposition to the Protocol is till Reform policy. It says the UK “has been partitioned down the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland is still in the EU’s single market for goods. It is unacceptable that British citizens in Northern Ireland are being ruled by EU laws.