BEFORE yesterday, David Davis last visited Northern Ireland – arguably the region with most to lose from Brexit – a matter of weeks after the June 2016 EU referendum.
Back then, flanked by then secretary of state James Brokenshire, he fielded a handful of questions from the media at Stormont.
He didn't so much answer, however, as stick to a pre-scripted response that sought to convey the impression that he knew how things would pan out and that everything was going to be grand.
His avuncular demeanour, untypical for a Tory, perhaps meant the newly-appointed Brexit secretary was afforded a bit of indulgence and, after all, he was only finding his feet, comparatively early in the Brexit process.
We didn't hear much from Mr Davis after that, so some 12 months later, The Irish News submitted an interview request that stressed the desire to discuss north's unique circumstances and the widespread uncertainty Britain's decision to leave the EU had prompted.
The bid was regularly re-submitted to the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU), alongside a request to know if Mr Davis planned to follow the example of Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, and EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who both went to see the Irish border first hand in respective high-profile visits.
Beyond an occasional cursory response, there was nothing from Mr Davis's department indicating whether he would conduct an interview or visit the border.
The minister was in the headlines last December after a disastrous performance in front of Westminster's Brexit committee.
Despite some speculation that he'd be sacked, Mr Davis continued in post, with his department only indicating that he would visit the border "when the time arises".
Even a challenge from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar appeared to fall on deaf ears, as the responses to The Irish News requests petered out.
Then, just as discussions turned to the possibility of travelling to Mr Davis's Humberside constituency in search of an interview, he suddenly popped up on Twitter, visiting Middletown in Co Armagh.
While The Irish News was appropriately annoyed at being stonewalled by the minister, it appears we were not alone – no media were invited to what was described rather oddly by DExEU as a "private visit".
No doubt the people the MP for Haltemprice and Howden encountered gave him an insight into how the 300-odd miles of border will be adversely affected post-Brexit.
Yet those of us excluded from yesterday's visit, which by extension includes everybody in the north, must surely feel a little aggrieved that the man invested with so much responsibility feels incapable of facing a few questions about the consequences of leaving the EU and how the attendant problems will be overcome.
We can imagine that yesterday's visit to the border was designed to instil confidence and provide reassurance where there is currently deep concern.
Ultimately, however, it'll likely have the opposite effect and merely underline the notion that David Davis demonstrates little consideration for those most in peril as a result of the Brexit misadventure.
