After his performance in front of Westminster's Brexit committee yesterday morning, perhaps we should be grateful David Davis hasn't adopted a hands-on approach when it comes to Northern Ireland. The British Brexit secretary had the demeanour of a man who'd been exposed. His responses to committee members' questions were akin to those of somebody who since taking up their post in July last year had spent all their time hiding in the local public library, rather than at their office in the Department for Exiting the European Union.
But his arms' length approach to Northern Ireland isn't acceptable either given that the region is in the eye of the Brexit storm. One flying visit in September last year sends out the wrong signal and doesn't even begin to provide the necessary reassurance people need at a time of deep uncertainty. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, visited the north in September, taking soundings from people in Belfast, and perhaps more importantly, along the border, near to where EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier had stood months earlier. Both Messrs Verhofstadt and Barnier's trips to the border may primarily have been for the optics but they at least demonstrated a level of concern yet to be displayed by their UK counterparts.
It's understood David Davis didn't venture any further than the Stormont estate during his brief visit 15 months ago, never mind spending time in Newry or Belcoo. For the Brexit minister, the border remains an abstract notion, experienced via Google Maps.
If the under-fire Mr Davis is ever to redeem himself and recover from this growing PR disaster, it's essential he shows understanding and solidarity with the north's border communities. He may not like what he hears when he ventures to south Armagh or west Tyrone but he'll undoubtedly gain a better, first-hand insight into potential consequences of the Brexit misadventure.
John Manley questionned David Davis about Brexit during a visit to the north in September 2016:
