Three reports on the “DONALDSON DEAL” have appeared in recent news articles.The first appeared on the local BBC News site.
The headlines on it read:
Three top DUP figures say there is ‘no dispute’ that Irish Sea border remains
The second article was in the ‘Belfast Newsletter’. Its headline ran:
DUP sidesteps criticism from Lord Nigel Dodds, Lord Maurice Morrow and Sammy Wilson MP, who say Irish Sea Border remains – Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly defends deal in BBC interview
Here is the third headline:
Gavin Robinson: DUP set out to remove internal trade border in the Irish Sea – and we’ve achieved exactly that
These articles highlight the fact that leading DUP members are in total disagreement on the success and reality of Jeffrey Donaldson’s Deal!
It is really not too difficult for ‘Mr & Mrs General-Public’ to arrive at what the truth is in this matter.
Former Northern Ireland Attorney General and constitutional lawyer, John Larkin KC, in a carefully worded assessment of the ‘Deal” has publicly denied that Jeffrey Donaldson has achieved what he claims he have done in his deal with the British Government.
Jim Allister KC, Baroness Hoey, Ben Habib and the continuing construction of ‘Irish Sea border posts all declare with John Larkin that the Protocol/Windsor Framework is still intact and that the EU still holds a grip on significant areas of our economic life.
Now three senior members of the DUP, mentioned in the BBC report — Sammy Wilson, Lord Dodds and Lord Morrow —say: there is “no dispute” that “there is still a border in the Irish Sea”. “The border posts are still being built at the cost of tens of millions of pounds. Under Article 12 of the NI Protocol the UK Government is obliged to ‘facilitate the presence of European Union representatives and provide them with all requests for relevant information relating to movements of goods from GB to NI.”
The latest effort to attempt a ‘make-over’ of the emptiness of the claims of Donaldson and Co continued with the DUP’s Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly trying to deny what other lawyers have claimed.
‘Denial’ is part of her remit as Deputy First Minister! Emma Little-Pengelly, was among the political figures at the funeral Mass of the former Irish Republic’s Taoiseach, John Bruton.
The “39 Articles of Religion”, born out of the Reformation, says of the Mass — Article 31: “The Offering of Christ once made is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction, for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin, but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifices of Masses, in the which it was commonly said, that the Priest did offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, were blasphemous fables, and dangerous deceits.”
Until this ‘Ecumenical age’ it was deemed totally unacceptable for a Protestant to give approval of this heretical doctrine by their presence. To do so was to give an endorsement to a blasphemous fable and a dangerous deceit.
That would be no problem for the modern DUP member!
Ms Little-Pengelly is reported responding to questioning by BBC ‘Inside Politics today’ presenter, Mark Carruther: “Look, people will come to their own conclusions and their own views. But it is as simple as this; The DUP party executive, a significant body, has made a decision and that decision was based on the very very detailed presentation of all of these matters that took place over a significant number of hours.” “That decision has been made, and that was made on the basis that Sir Jeffrey achieved a significant number of things in relation to this proposal and this deal, and that included protecting and ensuring unfettered, internal UK trade.”
Yes, it is simple! Emma Little-Pengelly did not say the border was gone! She dis not say that border posts are not continuing to be built, No, she offered a blitz of meaningless words meant only to beguile and deceive!
What a diabolical pit of lies and fabrication politics Ulster has descended into!
(We include the text from the “Belfast Telegraph’ article below)
Rev Ivan Foster (Rtd)
12th February, 2024.
Three top DUP figures say there is ‘no dispute’ that Irish Sea border remains
Three of the DUP’s most senior figures have said there is “no dispute” that “there is still a border in the Irish Sea”.
The comments from Sammy Wilson, Lord Dodds and Lord Morrow appear in an article in Saturday’s News Letter.
In the joint piece, the trio say they do not share the view of those in the DUP who believe the Irish Sea border issue has been dealt with.
They also say the party’s seven tests for a return to power-sharing have not been met.
But also writing in the News Letter today, DUP deputy leader Gavin Robinson insisted: “The DUP set out to remove the internal trade border in the Irish Sea and that is exactly what we have achieved.”
Recalling the day of terror that new Deputy First Minister says shaped her life
Some will see it as further evidence of a split emerging in the party following Sir Jeffrey Donaldson’s decision to return to Stormont.
The DUP collapsed the power-sharing institutions in February 2022 in protest at post-Brexit trade arrangements which they said created a border in the Irish Sea.
But Sir Jeffrey last week insisted he had secured the “decisive” backing of the 130-strong party executive during a marathon meeting on January 29.
He said DUP party officers – a key 12-strong decision making body, of which Mr Wilson, Lord Dodds and Lord Morrow are members – had also “mandated” him to move forward on the basis he was proposing.
During the power-sharing impasse, the DUP had cited “seven tests” to measure any proposals designed to address its concerns on the trading arrangements. Sir Jeffrey said the package from the Government represented “progress” across all seven tests.
However, support for the deal has not been unanimous within the DUP and several senior figures remain fiercely opposed to the agreement.
The News Letter reported that the article from Lord Dodds, the party’s former deputy leader; Mr Wilson, the MP for East Antrim; and party chairman Lord Morrow, had been submitted with a headline of ‘The battle goes on – no surrender’.
The trio claim that “fundamentally the Protocol/Windsor Framework is still intact and that the EU still holds a grip on significant areas of our economic life”.
In the article, they state: “Through no fault of our negotiators, and it’s no criticism of their commitment, it has not been possible to deliver on the seven tests by which we said we would judge the outcome of discussions with the government.
“There can be no dispute about it, there is still a border in the Irish Sea.
“The border posts are still being built at the cost of tens of millions of pounds. Under Article 12 of the NI Protocol the UK Government is obliged to ‘facilitate the presence of European Union representatives and provide them with all requests for relevant information relating to movements of goods from GB to NI’.”
They add: “The Government’s Command Paper does not undo the constitutional and economic damage of the Protocol/Windsor Framework.”
In his article, however, Mr Robinson, the East Belfast MP, said: “The arrangements we have secured not only restore but safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom and its internal market.
“Having taken the time to speak with ordinary people, many of whom care deeply about Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom, I remain convinced that there is broad support, and buy-in, for the package of measures we have delivered”.
Last week, Sir Jeffrey denied his party was divided over the deal.
He told a press conference at Hillsborough Castle: “I don’t accept the characterisation that my party is split.”
He added: “There was a very wide margin of support for the position we have adopted, that the vote was absolutely decisive.”