decided to stand down because of bad relations with sinn fein‘s partners in government, the democratic unionist partynment, the democratic unionist partylj fein‘s partners in government, the democratic unionist party. i have tendered my resignation, effective from five o'clock today. so i believe today is the right time to call a halt to the dup. this is the culmination of a seemingly insurmountable rift that is developed between himself and arlene foster. the crisis stems from a green energy scheme which has run over half £1 million over budget. over generous subsidies were paid and it didn't have payment caps. mrs foster was in charge of the project when it was set up but she's repeatedly refused calls to temporarily stepped down as first minister. i'm not stepping aside. i'm the first minister, i'm the party leader of the dup, i have a job to do, i'm committed to doing it. the announcement could mean the end of the career of one of the most significant figures in the peace process. he was a paramilitary who became a political leader. in nearly 19705, became a political leader. in nearly 1970s, mar

northern ireland, this automatically means that the first minister arlene foster — of the democratic unionist partylonger stay in her role. she said she was disappointed by the decision and claimed mr mcguinness was acting out of politics, not principle. as our correspondent chris page reports — northern ireland now faces the prospect of a snap election. martin mcguinness has been deputy first minister for a decade. he is evidently suffering from ill health but says he's decided to stand down because of bad relations with sinn fein‘s partners in government, the democratic unionist party. i have tendered my resignation, effective from five o'clock today. so i believe today is the right time to call a halt to the dup's arrogance. this is the culmination of a seemingly insurmountable rift that's developed between the deputy first minister and the dup leader, arlene foster. the latest crisis stems from a green energy scheme which has run over half £1 billion over budget. the renewable heat incentive paid over—generous subsidies and didn't have payment caps. mrs foster was in charge of the project when

he resigned in protest over the democratic unionist party's handling of a botched renewable energy schemecost taxpayers £190 million. the telegraph business section reports the ftse 100 has matched its longest record—setting streak in its 33—year history after it closed at an all time high on the back of a weakening pound. the guardian business section says fiat chrysler ceo sergio marchionne has warned the company may have to close it's mexican factories if us president—elect donald trump imposes tough new tariffs on imports from mexico. and finally, cristiano ronaldo has received fifa's best player award for the fourth time after portugal and real madrid both won major european titles in 2016. no doubt, cristiano ronaldo is the best european titles in 2016. no doubt, cristiano ronaldo is the best footballer european titles in 2016. no doubt, cristiano ronaldo is the best footballer in european titles in 2016. no doubt, cristiano ronaldo is the best footballer in the european titles in 2016. no doubt, cristiano ronaldo is the best footballer in the world. european titles in 2016. no doub

unionists and nationalists sharing power. today from both main parties were asked to submit a name for one of the two top posts. first up, the democratic, i very readily... and they backed their current leader. ..nominate arlene foster to be the first minister. next up, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broke you stop and you fix it. that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so ending the power—sharing government. what does all this mean? uncertainty for northern ireland. without an executive, key areas of government will be stalled and then, most importantly, there's brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice when crucial decisions are taken? we are in a very grave situation going into this election and the timing of it went northern ireland has no budget agreed, when we are facing brexit and when we are also coming to the end of the financial year is possibly the worst time that we could be entering into this kind of disarray. recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows of the past still make compromise difficult. the inquests into the deaths of 30

sinn fein resigned as northern ireland's deputy first minister, he automatically put the democratic unionist partyter out of herjob as first minister. that is the way the power—sharing system works. the party's relationship finally failed over a financial scandal involving a green energy scheme. but the partnership between unionists and irish republicans has always been an easy. there are many disagreements between them. the stormont stalemate means an election is likely in the next few weeks. however, the british and irish governments have held talks with the parties to try and avoid that. but, with no sign of a breakthrough, a breakdown is looking imminent. today at the northern ireland assembly, the dgp and sinn fein have been asked to nominate new members for first minister and deputy first minister. at sinn fein say they will not do so so the devolved government will officially collapsed. the law says the northern ireland secretary james brokenshire at must call an election within a reasonable period of time. negotiations to try and restore power—sharing would follow but no one believes it wo

he has been embroiled in a bitter row with the first minister and democratic unionist party leader arleneergy scheme. she said tonight that she was disappointed in the decision taken by mr mcguinness and said sinn fein's actions were not principled, but political. well, this is what martin mcguinness told journalists at a news conference this afternoon. i met with first minister arlene foster at 1.30. and we have a conversation which i am about to speak to you about. 0ver the last ten years i have worked with dup leaders, and i have reached out to unionists on the basis of equality, respect and reconciliation. and over this period, the actions of the british government and the dup, in my opinion, have grievously undermined the institutions and have eroded public confidence. so we in sinn fein will not tolerate the arrogance of arlene foster and the dup. sinn fein want equality and respect for everyone. that is what this process must be about.

initially the partnership between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein appear to be something 0ld enemies compromising to run northern ireland together. but there were frequent disagreements. the final row came over a financial scandal about a green energy scheme. yesterday the unlikely alliance officially fell apart, leaving the northern ireland secretary no option but to call an election to the stormont assembly. it will take place on the second of march. while it is inevitable that debate during an election period will be intense, i would strongly encourage the political parties to conduct of this election with a view to the future of northern ireland and re—establishing a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that poll. he'll speak about the crisis in the house of commons today. theresa may has discussed the situation with the irish prime minister enda kenny in a phone call. they said they wanted the stormont institutions to be back up the stormont institutions to be back up and running as soon as possible. the power—sharing government here at stormont h

sharing agreement, this automatically means that the first minister arlene foster, of the democratic unionist partyonger stay in her role. she said she was disappointed by the decision and claimed mr mcguinness was acting out of politics, not principle. as our correspondent nicholas witchell reports northern ireland now faces the prospect of a snap election. it was the most improbable of alliances. the party which was the political face of the provisional ira sitting down and working with the party of hardline unionism then led by the reverend ian paisley. yet for ten years the power—sharing government at stormont has brought peace stability to northern ireland. now it is on the brink of collapse and ostensibly it's all over heating scheme. martin mcguinness, the ira man who turned to politics and became deputy first minister, is in very poor health. he's had enough of what he calls the arrogance of deep democratic unionists. i have tendered my resignation effective from five o'clock today. i believe now is the time to call a halt to the dup's arrogance. so, what is it that threatens to wreck a dec

unionists and nationalists sharing power. today, both main parties were asked to submit a name for one of the two top posts. first up, the democraticand they backed their current leader. ..nominate arlene foster to be the first minister. thank you. next up, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broke, you stop and you fix it. that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so ending the power—sharing government. what does all this mean — uncertainty for northern ireland. without an executive, key areas of government will be stalled and then, most importantly, there's brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice when crucial decisions are taken? we are in a very grave situation going into this election and the timing of it, when northern ireland has no budget agreed, when we are facing into brexit and when we're also coming to the end of the financial year is possibly the worst time that we could be entering into this kind of disarray. recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows of the past still make compromise difficult. gavin hewitt, bbc news, belfast. som

sinn fein says it is in protest at the democratic unionist party's handling of a botched renewable energy scheme. which went barbie and its budget. —— far beyond. joining me now from belfast is our correspondent, chris page. now there is huge pressure on the first minister, arlene foster? now there is huge pressure on the first minister, arlene foster7m does, this has been gathering for the last few weeks, and it regards the last few weeks, and it regards the first minister ‘s ruling and energy scheme that ran over budget by millions of pounds. over the last yea rs, by millions of pounds. over the last years, there have been numerous crisis at stormont, this is as a result of a matter of policy and in recent weeks, sinn fein have been calling for arlene foster, the democratic unionist party leader to temporary stand down whilst there are investigations into that green energy scheme. now, in the last few daysin energy scheme. now, in the last few days in particular, sinn fein have been hardening their position over the weekend. gerry adams hinted that mark mcguinness may resign as deputy f

unionists and nationalists sharing power. today both main parties were asked to submit a name for one of the two top posts. first up, the democraticne foster to be the first minister. next up, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broke you stop and you fix it. that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so ending the power—sharing government. what does all this mean? uncertainty for northern ireland. without an executive, key areas of government will be stalled and then, most importantly, there's brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice when crucial decisions are taken? we are in a very grave situation going into this election and the timing of it when northern ireland has no budget agreed, when we are facing brexit and when we are also coming to the end of the financial year is possibly the worst time that we could be entering into this kind of disarray. recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows of the past still make compromise difficult. some campaigning for this snap poll have already begun with voters going to the polls on march the 2nd. the

unionists and nationalists sharing power. today, both main parties were asked to submit a name for one of the two top posts. first up, the democraticker, i very readily... and they backed their current leader. ..nominate arlene foster to be the first minister. next up, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broke, you stop and you fix it, that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so ending the power—sharing government. what does all this mean? uncertainty for northern ireland. without an executive, key areas of government will be stalled and then, most importantly, there is brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice when crucial decisions are taken? we are in a very grave situation going into this election and the timing of it, when northern ireland has no budget agreed, when we're facing into brexit and when we're also coming to the end of the financial year, is possibly the worst time that we could be entering into this kind of disarray. recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows of the past still make compromise difficult. gavin hewitt, bbc news,

the democratic unionist party leader said she would not be leaving herjob as she had done nothing wrong vital information and have asked them to come forward. the 23—year—old died in a deliberate house fire in east dunbartonshire on new year's day. flowers have been laid on coniston water in the lake district to mark the 50th anniversary of the death of the land and water speed record—holder donald campbell. hisjet—powered boat bluebird broke into pieces as he attempted to break his own record. his daughter said she was humbled his achievements are still recognised. judith moritz has more. exactly 50 years since herfather died here, gina campbell rowed across coniston water in his memory. in her hands, donald campbell's teddy bear mascot, which floated to the surface after his fatal crash. and then, in the middle of the lake, flowers, to mark the spot where he lost his life. archive footage: campbell was one of a rare breed, a true patriot, flying the flag for britain wherever he went. campbell died trying to beat his own record as fastest man in the world. the speed ace had many fans,

initially, the partnership between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein appeared to be somethingd enemies compromising to run northern ireland together. but there were frequent disagreements. the final row came over a financial scandal about a green energy scheme. yesterday, the unlikely alliance officially fell apart, leaving the northern ireland secretary no option but to call an election to the stormont assembly. it will take place on the second of march. while it is inevitable that debate during an election period will be intense, i would strongly encourage the political parties to conduct this election with a view to the future of northern ireland and re—establishing a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that poll. he'll speak about the crisis in the house of commons today. theresa may has discussed the situation with the irish prime minister, enda kenny, in a phone call. they said they wanted the stormont institutions to be back up and running as soon as possible. the power—sharing government here at stormont has ended in a bitter breakup. the election

however, there are other parties like the democratic unionist party who said would be irrationalfor unionistl be parliament that decides alone. nonetheless, we're going into an election period here in northern ireland because of the collapse of the power sharing government and brexit will be one of the issues thatis brexit will be one of the issues that is talked about throughout this campaign as people try to make clear exactly what it will mean for this pa rt exactly what it will mean for this part of the uk. let's find out what it will mean for wales, thomas morgan is in cardiff. thank you, chris. well, wales is the only other nation like england that voted to leave the eu and there has been quite a lot of political reaction following today's decision, the initial reaction came from the counsel generalfor the initial reaction came from the counsel general for wales, the welsh government's chief law officer that welcomed it and called it a victory for parliamentary sovereignty and said that even though the welsh senedd and the other devolved nations wouldn't get a vote, at the meant there

with section 16 of the act, i have received notification from the nominating officer of the democratic unionist partyng officer for the party today. i would recall the lord to nominate a memberof today. i would recall the lord to nominate a member of the assembly to be the first minister. thank you, mr speaker. following the action just eight months ago, i had the honour and the pleasure of nominating the dup party leader arlene foster. everyone in this house will be acutely aware that the people spoke very clearly at that election in may and they said that they want arlene foster to be the leader and the protector of unionism. that was demonstrated very, very clearly. not only was she elected, she was elected with the highest personal vote of any member of this house. that was not the decision of this house. that was the decision of the people from tyrone. however it seems to be that forever from that day there has been an array of attempts to ta ke there has been an array of attempts to take arlene foster down. and it hasn't always come from the nationalist and republican wing. ulster unionists hav

the democratic unionist party, who wanted to leave, they said it would make the uk strong, leaving the march at stormont. brexit will be a big issue. another key strand in the speech today was the announcement that theresa may wants to take britain out of the jurisdiction of the european court ofjustice. the prime minister said laws will be upheld byjudges in this country and not in europe. we can speak to the conservative mp and former attorney—general dominic grieve about the policy on the european court ofjustice. your overall sense, if i may, of the speech and the time pulis struck? the prime minister's town was excellent. i have no fault with it. she said ambitious targets. if she can deliver on them, it is likely to be as good a brexit as somebody like myself could possibly hope to expect. protecting britain's vital interests, in terms of being able to access the single market, and also operates within a customs union with our partners. 0bviously, operates within a customs union with our partners. obviously, we will have to wait and see how the negotiations go in terms of a state

ms foster, who heads the democratic unionist party, has been urged to resign because of her involvement now. arlene foster has been under pressure certainly for quite a few weeks. can you explain this latest development? we basically have a stand—off at stormont between the two power—sharing parties, the dup, arlene foster's party, and sinn fein. at the heart of it all is this renewable heat incentive, the green energy scheme, which began in 2012 and was run by a department which at the time arlene foster was in charge of. she has since moved on to become the stormont first minister. that scheme basically gave over generous subsidies to businesses and domestic consumers who wanted to switch to environmentally friendly fuels, and it ran massively overbudget. it will now cost stormont £1190 it ran massively overbudget. it will now cost stormont £190 million, it is thought, over the next 20 years. she has been under sustained pressure for a number of weeks from opposition parties in the assembly to stand down from herjob. the coalition partners have said she should temporarily leave the jo

that's been welcomed by the democratic unionist party, the biggest party here in northern ireland.it's been rejected by sinn fein, who until recently, we re by sinn fein, who until recently, were their partners in government, though, of course, powersharing were their partners in government, though, of course, power sharing has collapsed here. sinn fein say they will continue to push for special status for northern ireland. but the whole issue of brexit is sets to be debated here over the next month, as an election campaign plays out. though we now have clarity about what's going to happen as regards the triggering of article 50 and how that will work, we don't have a clarity about what it will mean for northern ireland once brexit actually happens, because this is the only part of the uk to have a land border with another eu country, the republic of ireland. no—one is quite sure what's going to happen there. will there be some kind of physical border? could there be customs posts? that still has to be worked out and negotiated. chris buckler reporting from belfast. with me is nick

if neither the democratic unionist party or sinn fein blinks, the devolved government will be on thelapse. today, sinn fein published proposal for an investigation into the green energy scheme at the heart of the crisis. it was called the renewable heat incentive. it was supposed to encourage people to switch to environmentally friendly fuels, but it run massively over budget and is expected to cost £500 million over the next ten years. sinn fein say they want a judge to lead a panel to investigate this, and it will have the power to compel witnesses to appear, for documents to be produced. at the heart of the proposal is that they want arlene foster to step aside as first minister, temporarily, for a few weeks, while the inquiry publishes preliminary report. they have stated that position for a number of weeks, that position for a number of weeks, that they wanted to leave the office for a while. arlene foster has made it clear she has no intention of doing so. she has not done any interviews so far, but she was at an event at a school in her constituency. julian fowler caught up co

way out in the lead of the second biggest nationalist party, the sdlp, they are behind the democratic unionist party that collapsed the devolved government which has led to this snap election. sinn fein think that the decision to walk out, the decision of martin mcguinness to resign asjoint decision of martin mcguinness to resign as joint head of that power sharing administration in protest at what he called the dup‘s arrogance has chimed with the party's aggressor. they don't think they stand to lose anything, they think they stand to gain something. the dup can be expected to hit hard and blame sinn fein for everything that's happened here at stormont recently. so if you get a position where both the dup and sinn fein bolster their strength in this election or certainly don't lose any support, that's what most observers think will happen, you will be in a situation where michelle o'neill before she can take over as joint head of the power sharing government here, will have to lead sinn fein into negotiations to try to work out the differences between the dup and sinn fein and the disagreement‘s be

sinn fein resigned as northern ireland's deputy first minister, he automatically put the democratic unionist partyout of her job as first minister. that is the way the power—sharing system works. the party's relationship finally failed over a financial scandal involving a green energy scheme. but the partnership between unionists and irish republicans has always been uneasy. there are many disagreements between them. the stormont stalemate means an election is likely in the next few weeks. however, the british and irish governments have held talks with the parties to try and avoid that. but, with no sign of a breakthrough, a breakdown is looking imminent. today at the northern ireland assembly, the dup and sinn fein have been asked to nominate new members for first minister and deputy first minister. but sinn fein say they will not do so, so the devolved government will officially collapse. the law says the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, must call an election within a reasonable period of time. negotiations to try and restore power—sharing would follow, but no—one believes it would

situation that has come about asa is a situation that has come about as a result of the democratic unionist partycted the basis for future political process on the basis of equality. some people are saying you are risking that position of direct rule from london and you would not be suited to that either that there will be no reintroduction of british direct rule. it failed and it will not be reintroduced. the only way forward is on the basis of full and faithful adherence to the good friday agreement and to end the corruption of the principles of equality and parity of esteem. let us get back to good governance and ensuring the institutions work to the people and building a future and peace for all of our people across the island of ireland. thank you for being with us in the rain and cold outside stormont. that is the latest from stormont. that is the latest from stormont. the northern ireland secretary, james brokenshire, is expected to make a statement to mps on this crisis this afternoon. we will have coverage on that. you can get out of the cold for now. let us can get out of the cold for n

you will find that on one side you have the democratic unionist party, who are very in favour of theted kingdom leaving the eu and on the other side, sinn fein and other parties, heavily against the idea of northern ireland leaving the eu. that is going to be a big debating point in these elections. once again, it is the case that this issue and what practically means for northern ireland has not gone away with this judgment. northern ireland has not gone away with thisjudgment. thank you. let's go to holyrood. what is the reaction there? rejecting the notion that scottish devolved administration should have a say in the triggering of brexit, what is the triggering of brexit, what is the reaction to that? the reaction is that it is good in parts and bad in others. nicola sturgeon has welcomed the fact mps will get to have a say in trickling article 50. —— triggering. they are going to table 50 amendments to article 50 including calling for a white paper to be published and a full agreement in the agreement of triggering article 50. scotland's sole labour mp is believed to be against

initially, the partnership between the democratic unionist party and sinn fein appeared to be somethingorthern ireland together. but there were frequent disagreements. the final row came over a financial scandal about a green energy scheme. yesterday, the unlikely alliance officially fell apart, leaving the northern ireland secretary no option but to call an election to the stormont assembly. it will take place on the second of march. while it is inevitable that debate during an election period will be intense, i would strongly encourage the political parties to conduct this election with a view to the future of northern ireland and re—establishing a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that poll. he'll speak about the crisis in the house of commons today. theresa may has discussed the situation with the irish prime minister, enda kenny, in a phone call. they said they wanted the stormont institutions to be back up and running as soon as possible. the power—sharing government here at stormont has ended in a bitter breakup. the election campaign is expected to be part

now, while this was triggered by the heating scandal, sinn fein say their rift with the democratic unionist partyd historian dr margaret 0'callaghan, from queen's university. what do you think is going to happen today? in all likelihood we are heading to an election but i suppose we have until 5 o'clock, so in theory, there are a number of points during the day at which something could happen whereby sinn fein and the dup put something together. at the dup put something together. at the moment, for example, the finance spokesperson is trying to put a deal together that will at least investigate this scandal. but there area number of investigate this scandal. but there are a number of steps during the day but the way it looks at the moment, we are probably going for an election at 5 i think. there have been a fair few crises in northern ireland politics, where does this rate? 0h, northern ireland politics, where does this rate? oh, this is pretty high, 9 out of 10. it's also very odd because it's come almost out of nowhere. as you know, the system we have here in northern ireland was set up under

as deputy first minister a week ago, in protest at the democratic unionists' handling of a controversial renewable energy scheme. today both parties government. here's mr brokenshire. no one should underestimate the challenge faced to the political institutions here in northern ireland and what is at stake. while it is inevitable that debate during an election period will be intense, i would strongly encourage the political parties to conduct this election with a view to the future of northern ireland and re—establishing a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that poll. this is essential to the operation of devolved government and this means that all must remain open to dialogue. the government continues to stand firmly behind its commitment to the belfast agreement and its successors, and our responsibilities to safeguard political stability here in northern ireland. we will continue to do all that we can to find a way forward to secure the continuation of devolved government. conor murphy from sinn fein accused the dup of treating the stormont institutions, with contempt. today we have called time on the arro

it came after weeks of tensions between his party and their partners in the power—sharing government, the democratic unionistsnown for the massive hollowed—out tunnel at its core, has been knocked over during a series of storms in central and northern california. the historic pioneer cabin tree had survived for centuries, and allowed tourists to pass through it before it came down due to the heavy rain. it featured graffiti dating back to the 1800s, when visitors were allowed to etch their names into the tree's bark. look at it. it is quite amazing, isn't it? you can'tjust make stuff up. i don't know why i said three. i don't know. i was looking at the pictures. it seems even squirrels have a sweet tooth as they've been caught making off with chocolate bars. look at this. the owner of a grocery store in toronto, who filmed this unlikely thief, said the squirrels have stolen more than a0 chocolates. they've now to social media for advice about how to deter the animals. unbelievable. the obviousjoke, do the obvious joke, do you think they have gone for fruit and nut? amazing. go on. the same one again. he is no

it came after weeks of tensions between his party and their partners in the power—sharing government, the democratic unionistsd? there have been previous crisis situations here at stormont over the last few years, when devolution has teetered on the brink but has survived. however i don't think that is going to happen this time. northern ireland is effectively without a devolved government, martin mcguinness' resignation as deputy first minister yesterday effectively put the first minister arlene foster out of herjob because they were enjoyed office. positions have hardened today, politicians are openly talking about preparing for the election campaign they think is coming. if there is an election and the dup and sinn fein are returned again as the largest parties, it doesn't look as if they would go back into government with each other straight away, because the disagreement between them is so serious. so we could be into complex negotiations. today the senior democratic union mp sirjeffrey donaldson said he thinks northern ireland is facing a prolonged period of direct rule from westminster because he can't

it came after weeks of tension between his party and its partners in the power—sharing government, the democratic unionistsokenshire is expected to make a statement to mps today. boris johnson, who's visiting washington, says he's confident britain will be first in line for a trade deal with the new us administration. the foreign secretary has been meeting senior republican politicians, who've promised to make a us—uk trade deal a priority. barack 0bama warned in april that the uk would be at the back of the queue if voters chose brexit. concerns have been raised about the care of transgender prisoners, following four deaths in just over a year atjails in england and wales. a report from the prisons and probation 0mbudsman says prison staff and managers need to be more proactive and flexible in the way they deal with inmates who've changed their birth gender, or are in the process of doing so. the ministry ofjustice says it has revised its guidance so prisoners are dealt with according to the gender they identify with. drivers caught offending on so—called "smart motorways" could be offered re—education le