British governments did not legally break the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty in their handling of the Boundary Commission, but they broke its spirit.

Not only did their duplicitous interpretations of the boundary clause decide its outcome, which was deeply skewed in favour of unionism, the way they cloaked their trickery with diplomatic speak amplified the bitterness felt by nationalists.

Likewise, British governments are not obliged under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement to publish the conditions they will use to decide if the criteria for calling a border poll have been met. However, by refusing to do so, many believe they will act in bad faith again in their dealings with Ireland.

The ambiguity of the wording of Article 12 of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which provided for a Boundary Commission, suited the flexible and moveable language enjoyed by David Lloyd George, a politician with a notorious reputation for elasticity with the truth.

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In the white heat of the endgame of the Treaty negotiations on the afternoon of December 5 1921, hours before it was signed and just hours after convincing Michael Collins that they both shared the same interpretation of the Boundary Commission clauses to transfer large parts of Northern Ireland to the Free State, Lloyd George assured his Cabinet colleagues that the commission would provide for nothing more than “a........

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