Brexiteers show a breathtaking lack of understanding about the border

THOSE leading Britain’s foolhardy charge out of the EU have, in the last week, displayed a breathtaking lack of understanding about the complexities of the Northern Ireland issue and the powerful historic symbolism of the border. While many of Brexit’s most ardent supporters have expressed grossly simplistic opinions about the border in the past, comments made by Boris Johnson last week were particularly alarming.

Johnson – no stranger to controversy and a man prone to appalling verbal gaffes – last week compared the Irish border to the boundaries between London’s boroughs.

Aside from his apparent failure to grasp that Northern Ireland and the Republic are separate countries and that our Republic is not actually part of the UK, Johnson said, apparently seriously, that solving the border issue could be achieved as simply as introducing a system like London’s congestion charge.

As the former Mayor of London one can understand why Johnson would be proud of the Congestion Charge system (introduced by his predecessor Ken Livingston), the successful operation of which he oversaw for eight years.

It is an efficient system, that’s hard to deny, but to suggest it is even remotely comparable to what would be required to operate an international border is nothing short of ludicrous.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from Johnson’s latest comments are that he either doesn’t understand the Irish border or doesn’t care. Neither option is encouraging.

The British Foreign Secretary – a role of enormous international importance and influence – has betrayed a reckless disregard for the Good Friday Agreement and an apparent willingness to sacrifice peace in the six counties at the altar of Brexit.

The Good Friday Agreement was one of the most significant peace treaties in recent European history and brought an end to 30 years of violence.

Since it was signed it has been used as the model for countless similar agreements across the world and the men and women behind it have been hailed for their diplomatic skills.

Despite all this, Johnson and his Brexiteer allies seem willing to sacrifice the historic deal – and risk a return to sectarian conflict – just to secure their own narrow political ambitions.

The farce of Brexit – one of the greatest own goals in modern UK history –was brought about by David Cameron’s doomed efforts to win and decisively end an internal battle in the Conservative Party. His gamble backfired spectacularly.

Now with the Tories engulfed in fresh turmoil, again of their own making, the Brexiteers are willing to sacrifice Northern Ireland to secure their own position.

Boris Johnson – a man who should but clearly doesn’t know better – has made the astonishing and disturbing claim that the Irish border is simply being used as a political tool to delay Brexit.

That the UK’s chief representative on the world stage has such a narrow view of history and international relations is not only staggering, it is deeply concerning.