The deep anger among some proBritish unionists in Northern Ireland over postBrexit trade barriers that cut it off from the rest of the United Kingdom is emblazoned along the road from Belfast to the mainly Protestant port town of Larne. Posters demanding No Irish Sea Border, Scrap NI Protocol and EU Hands Off Ulster cover much of the 35km 20mile route, their opposition to the new trading arrangements emphasised by the flying of Britains Union Jack flag every few lampposts.

A dispute between Britain and the European Union over the implementation of the socalled Northern Ireland protocol designed to prevent a hard Irish border has raised fears that the outrage it has caused among some caught in the middle could spill over into violent protest in the coming months. The only thing that gets any results in this country is violence or the threat of violence, said Alex, a 72yearold Larne resident who described himself as a proper unionist. He declined to give his surname.

We are part of the United Kingdom, we were born British, we live British and we will die British. The Britishrun region remains deeply split along sectarian lines, 23 years after a peace deal largely ended three decades of bloodshed. Many Catholic nationalists aspire to unification with Ireland while Protestant unionists want to stay in the UK. Preserving that delicate peace without allowing the United Kingdom a back door into the EUs single market via the border between Northern Ireland and EUmember…