Now that the dust has settled on Rishi Sunak’s great pronouncement, that he has reached the deal of the century on the Northern Ireland Protocol and won great concessions from Brussels, we can now see the truth emerging.

The truth is that little, if anything, has changed and that the Protocol itself remains undisturbed. The Windsor Framework has not changed the protocol one iota. As Steven Barrett puts it in the Spectator: "It’s a wish list of vague commitments."

All we have is a series of small changes that ensures the primacy of EU law within NI and that keeps NI firmly within the jurisdiction of the ECJ.

As the EU Commission statement on this is at great pains to point out: “The Court of Justice of the European Union remains the sole and ultimate arbiter of EU law.”

In essence, the Sunak government has re-affirmed the protocol, much to the pleasure of Brussels. As evidenced by the glee that emanated from the EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, at the joint press conference.

Brussels has given Rishi some limited political wiggle room while they need our support on the Russia/Ukraine issue. Rishi has borrowed the Boris bluster to cover up this woeful surrender, hoping that Brexit fatigue will do the job for him.

As the UK Independence Party leader, Neil Hamilton, has already said - this is unfinished business.

Lester Taylor

UK Independence Party – Brexit and Northern Ireland Spokesman