Unionism must hold its nerve against the Northern Ireland Protocol, Jim Allister urges DUP

The TUV leader said it would be “foolish in the extreme” to accept the bill at face value without being certain that the Irish Sea border is removed.

Mr Allister also cautioned other unionist MLAs against rushing into a fresh Stormont executive with Michelle O’Neill as first minister.

While welcoming the defeat of amendments to the bill that will empower the UK government to override elements of the protocol that unionists say put the Union at risk, Mr Allister said:

“It is important that unionism holds its nerve. The reality that the bill does not remove the Irish Sea border — but both confirms and ameliorates it by the introduction of red and green lines — should cause unionists to be wary of being double crossed again, by the government that brought us the Union-dismantling Protocol in the first place.”

He continued: “For unionism to jump before being aware of the impact of the bill would be foolish in the extreme.”

On the DUP’s possible future entry into a new power sharing administration, Mr Allister said: “Ms O’Neill can only come to the office if she finds a stooge deputy within the unionist parties. TUV was clear that we would not facilitate a republican first minister being foisted on the assembly in which unionism remains the largest designation.

“Unionists elected off the back of TUV transfers — of which there are 10 in the Assembly — would do well to reflect on this fact before rushing to endorse the leader of a party which continues to hold that Northern Ireland should not exist as the key reason for its existence.”