Unionists know that Ireland and EU are to blame for the bad relations

Talk about calling the kettle black.

In his pugnacious BBC interview, Leo Varadkar did not once recognise the validity of unionist opinion rejecting the Northern Ireland Protocol.

His sweeping assessment of the deadlock exposed the thinking of the soon-to-be Irish Taoiseach, then he cited ‘the integrity of the single market must be protected ... it is logical to have a border in the Irish Sea ... the British do not want to work with the Irish ... relations have never been so bad’.

Any unionist listening to Mr Varadkar and his distorted narrative will be under no illusions. They know that relations between the Irish and British are acerbic because of the perfidious behaviour of Ireland and the EU.

Unionists are tired of being lectured by hostile republicans for upholding the integrity of their right to remain British.

At all costs unionism must avoid the traps set by the Irish to unsettle the growing unity of purpose.

As emphasised before , when our politicians stick together and the leaders embrace a joint strategic approach, unionists will amass a formidable peaceable force acting in support of our own political defence to the likes of Leo Varadkar.

David McNarry, Comber