ULSTER UNIONIST DAVID Trimble has accused the Irish government of “saying silly things about the border and the constitutional issue” in the context of the wider talks around Brexit and Northern Ireland.

In an interview with the Guardian, the man who led the unionists in the Good Friday Agreement negotiations said that the Irish government risks provoking loyalist paramilitaries over its stance on the border after the UK leaves the EU, and any “special deal” for Northern Ireland’s status put the 20-year-old agreement at risk.

The Irish government has always argued for no customs posts between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit, and no physical border separating the two.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has rejected Trimble’s assertions, saying the government is working hard to protect the “hard-won peace on the island of Ireland”, the Irish Times reported this morning.

So, today we’re asking you: Do you think the Brexit border row risks escalating tensions in Northern Ireland?