parties and also particularly sinn fein._ particularly sinn fein.in. and the report into policing _ particularly sinn fein. and the report into policing in - particularly sinn fein. and the| report into policing in northern ireland when the good friday agreement was cold, that report recommended the establishment of what is called district policing partnerships. based on divisional and borough level. also it's the community that are involved in the roles of the police. they proved themselves, i think it stood the test of time to be quite effective because to bring about policing across all communities the case of northern ireland, i will of course finally was endorsed by sinn fein in 2007. and the police service of northern ireland is 20 years old and arguably, it is, things are not perfect, they never are. but they're making progress in a think they recommended possibly a template for us here going forward. this recommended possibly a template for us here going forward.— us here going forward. this is for the mid to _ us here going forward. this is

the big unknown is whether sinn fein emerges as the biggest - sinn fein emerges as the biggest partyntly suggest that will be the case. if that is the case, there is an extra air of incivility here, because dup as recently as this morning, sirjeffrey donaldson has not clarified whether he would serve as deputy first minister to a sinn fein first minister. we have got the problem of the protocol, problem of whether dup will accept the outcome of that election, on top of that, these practical implications. northern ireland has been degrading in terms of public services because of that long period of no government, then into the covid crisis, the protocol crisis, it is not good position. thank you. the opening ceremony of this year�*s winter olympics has been getting under way in beijing. this is is the scene at the main stadium — known as the birds nest. its rim is decorated with the flags of the 91 competing nations and regions. the ceremony is due to last around two hours and it will culminate in the lighting of the olympic cauldron. few global leaders have journeyed to beijing to be

we have also had enough of sinn fein preaching equality, yet the sinn fein culture minister want to provideunding to mark her majesty the queen's platinum jubilee. the longest reigning monarch in our history and we cannot get funding to mark this historic occasion. and sinn fein call this fairness and equality. we have also had enough of sinn fein lecturing us about respect. yet, we have a sinn fein finance minister... we will leavejeffrey have a sinn fein finance minister... we will leave jeffrey donaldson there and go straight to the chancellor rishi sunak, talking about what the government is doing to help the rising cost of energy. feeling anxious. i want to reassure you, the plans i set out in parliament today are going to help you and your family. parliament today are going to help you and yourfamily. now, anyone parliament today are going to help you and your family. now, anyone who tells you there is an easy answer to this situation is not being straight with you. the reasons prices are rising our global. a difficult winter last year depleted global gas stores. there has been disrup

more hard—line unionists are saying we should never have gone into this assembly sharing parts of sinn feinforget was very much the party of ian paisley and limit the party of ian paisley and limit the time when it was a small party it was very much based around his free presbyterian church. it has values that will be very familiar to voters and some of the seven states and the united states for instance a very bible based and very christian with a c and there are a lot of unionists who are not comfortable with that. when he became the main unionist party attempting a lot of people who don't see, for instance why gay people should not get married. and a lot of these social issues itself a report of by the more extreme elements of the bed —— democratic union ex parte in the is at this election that has to be come what may because it was the cycle of the assembly, the five—year cycle and all sinn fein has to do is hold what it has at the moment and it's almost certainly going to be denied ex parte which means they will be a sinn fein first minister. jeffrey donaldson did not become leader of

25%, which means that if in the coming election, it's quite probable that sinn fein will take the firstwere projected to go to traditional unionist voices parties. but the part of —— problem with that is the tuv party is a post of the good friday agreement, so if the dup makes disc cable to get their votes to get a higher proportion of the unionist boats, it will be striking an alliance of the party which is not readily going to agree to... your backing up but let'sjust not readily going to agree to... your backing up but let's just wait for a moment. your backing up but let's just wait fora moment. no, i'm sorry, we seem to have lost margaret. just seeing if we can get back to margaret. note, i'm sorry commit we seem to have lost her and will try and get a hold of her. perhaps, margaret, i think you are back but you froze a moment ago but talk us through the scenario now. so edwin poots's orders were not followed through, were they? orders were not followed through, were the ? ., orders were not followed through, were they?— orders were not followed through, were the ? ., , ., ., were

but the party's critics, the likes of sinn fein, the national and the allowance party dress.tepped. our top story this lunchtime... the soaring cost of energy. average household bills are going up by almost £700 a year, but the government moves to soften the blow. and coming up, we're live in beijing for the latest from the winter olympics. coming up in sport on the bbc news channel... play for the club, stating they got it wrong. as well as discussing the rising cost of energy, the chancellor rishi sunak has been talking to the bbc today about the controversy surrounding borisjohnson and the police investigation into alleged downing street parties. the chancellor confirmed his support for the prime minister, but admitted that the allegations have damaged public confidence in the government. he's been speaking to our political editor, laura kuenssberg. are you comfortable with how your next—door neighbour has handled all of this? i think it is right that the prime minister has apologised as he has done in parliament and has committed to taking on board all the suggestions in

pull out of the assembly, first and deputy first minister, because the deputy first minister from sinn feinkind of fundamental, isn't it, laura, about how the uk holds together? and if you're a unionist in northern ireland, you absolutely do not want to see anything that separates you here in northern ireland from the rest of the uk. gosh, it's complicated but also so fundamental to everything, isn't it, really? and, you know, a long running conversation that has actually all those warnings and threats, actually becoming real under the storm clouds of stormont. yeah, the literal storm clouds because chris looks really wet in his mac there. anyway, that's all for this episode of newscast. thank you very much for watching and listening. and if you want to listen to more, you can subscribe to our daily podcast on bbc sounds. although, next week, i'm actually going on holiday. i don't want any of you thinking that i've resigned too! bye. bye— bye. bye. newscast... newscast from the bbc. that evening. good evening. it's felt much colder for most today, despite the sunshine, and wintry showers wi

sinn fein, the dup's power—sharing partners, criticised the move as a "stunt".t of december 2020 from midnight tonight and prepare a paperfor from midnight tonight and prepare a paper for executive consideration in the near future to seek agreement on a way forward. thank you. me the near future to seek agreement on a way forward. thank you.— a way forward. thank you. we are also hearing _ a way forward. thank you. we are also hearing reports— a way forward. thank you. we are also hearing reports this - a way forward. thank you. we are also hearing reports this morning| also hearing reports this morning that the dup first minister in the northern ireland assembly, paul given, is preparing to announce his resignation. 0ur ireland correspondent chris pagejoins me now. i will talk to you about paul gibbon in a moment, but first of all regarding those checks, are they happening or not? it is regarding those checks, are they happening or not?— happening or not? it is a pretty uncertain picture _ happening or not? it is a pretty uncertain picture this _ happening or n

pull out of the assembly, first and deputy first minister, because the deputy first minister from sinn feinlso so fundamental to everything, isn't it, really? and, you know, a long running conversation that has actually all those warnings and threats, actually becoming real under the storm clouds of stormont. yeah, the literal storm clouds because chris looks really wet in his mac there. anyway, that's all for this episode of newscast. thank you very much for watching and listening. and if you want to listen to more, you can subscribe to our daily podcast on bbc sounds. although, next week, i'm actually going on holiday. i don't want any of you thinking that i've resigned too! bye. bye— bye. bye. newscast... newscast from the bbc. hello. we're seeing a real change in weather type at the moment, as a cold front is spreading its way across the uk, and that will be bringing us a colder and windier spell of weather into friday, with some wintry showers around, too. here's the cold air streaming in behind this cold front, which is working gradually south—eastwards. still bringing some rain, even

we have also had enough of sinn fein preaching equality, yet the sinn fein culture minister want to provide

but given sinn fein has called for the election to held earlier than may when it was scheduled for, itassed by the assembly will not be passed, which ultimately points to the question of has the dup made the right move in this electorally speaking? well unionist supporters genuinely believe that the protocol is an existential threat to the union and the most important issue? or will they feel hard done by that the assembly mandate was not fulfilled. professor katie hayward. _ mandate was not fulfilled. professor katie hayward, thank _ mandate was not fulfilled. professor katie hayward, thank you _ mandate was not fulfilled. professor katie hayward, thank you very i mandate was not fulfilled. professor| katie hayward, thank you very much. as we've been hearing, borisjohnson has been rocked by a wave of downing street resignations in another blow to his leadership. four of his most senior advisers quit on thrusday with another adviser, elena narozanski, leaving her role this morning. the pm is battling to save his premiership as conservative mps consider whether to oust him over lockdown

a court case has been brought by two people, one of them a member of sinn fein, we do not know exactly and thejudge has said that in those circumstances he is going to suspend the order of edwin poots. now the official certainly will be carrying on those cheques. there had been some suggestion that perhaps the checks could be stopping on monday. now it looks like that will not happen. the cheques will happen until the fulljudicial not happen. the cheques will happen until the full judicial review hearing. in the meantime northern ireland has found itself without a first minister and deputy first minister. the resignation of paul givan took effect from midnight, and under the rules of power—sharing, deputy first minister michelle o'neill as sinn fein is automatically out of a job also. some functions has gone, but other ministers technically remain in their position. there will still be debates in the stormont assembly, legislation has a ready started passing through the chamber, and will continue, but basically the devolved government cannot make any new major decisions without its two

mr givan's resignation means the deputy first minister, sinn fein's michelle 0'neill, loses her positionng since last year. today, as the first minister stepped down, it was delivered. 0ur institutions are being tested once again and the delicate balance created by the belfast and st andrews agreements has been impacted by the agreement made by the united kingdom government and the european union, which created the northern ireland protocol. it means the power—sharing executive in northern ireland will cease to function. decision—making affecting thousands of people's lives on hold. for some time this storm has been on the horizon. the new border checks on goods which cross the irish sea represent for unionist parties a deep betrayal and a threat to their position in the uk. last night, the dup ordered civil servants to stop carrying out these checks but there's disagreement over whether that order is lawful. well, ideally businesses, we don't want any checks on goods coming from great britain into northern ireland and we really want minimal administration as well. what we are calling fo

, the sdlp, the likes of sinn fein, the sdlp, the alliance party, they were saying the alliance partyikely the legal position would be tested in court. a court case has been brought by two people, one of them a member of sinn fein, and it has got through the first stage of the legal process. so the judge at the legal process. so the judge at the high court has this morning granted leave forjudicial review, in other words it is now going to go forward to a full hearing, and the judge has said that in those circumstances he is going to suspend mr poots' order, so now the officials will certainly be carrying on those checks. there have been some suggestion that perhaps checks could be stopping on monday but now it looks like that is not going to happen, the checks will continue indefinitely until the full judicial hearing resolves that .1 way or another. in the meantime, northern ireland has found itself without a first and deputy first minister. paul givan's resignation took effect at midnightand paul givan's resignation took effect at midnight and under the rules of power sharing here,

his resignation means the deputy first minister michelle 0'neill of sinn fein also loses her positionty first ministers in northern ireland, you can't have one without the other, so this ends the power sharing partnership at the top of government here. it is a calculated strike by the dup over the brexit arrangement but it puts policy—making in a whole range of other areas in jeopardy. political paralysis returns to stormont, something the dup have been threatening since last year. today the first minister stepped down, it was delivered. fiur down, it was delivered. our institutions _ down, it was delivered. our institutions are _ down, it was delivered. oi" institutions are being tested down, it was delivered. cl" institutions are being tested once again, and the delicate balance created by the belfast and st andrews agreements has been impacted by the agreement made by the united kingdom government and the european union, which created the northern ireland protocol. it union, which created the northern ireland protocol.— ireland protocol. it means the power-sharing _ ireland protocol

michelle o'neill, the - deputy first minister and a member of sinn fein, has said that halting brexita, which is citing the kremlin, so we will bring you more detail on that as soon as we have it. now, the manchester united footballer mason greenwood has been released on bail pending further investigation after his arrest on suspicion of rape and assault. the 20—year—old striker was arrested by police on sunday before being further arrested on allegations of sexual assault and making threats to kill. manchester united previously said he would not return to training or matches until further notice. there are reports that ministers plan to cut everyone's energy bills by £200 as part of a strategy to deal with the effect of soaring gas prices. it's understood the proposals will also include an extension of support for the neediest households. it comes as the neediest households. it comes as the energy regulator of gem is set to announce a steep hike in energy bills for 15 million households in england, scotland and wales. i asked our business editor simonjack to explain what is happening

but the likes of sinn fein, the nationalist sdlp, the cross—community alliance party who are also inernationally recognised treaty and it is not lawful to stop the checks, they have to go on. there will be more legal clarity sought today by everybody involved. it is still possible a point of law may well be tested in court, but for the moment uncertainty reigns amongst politicians, civil servants and indeed businesses here most affected by the post—brexit trading arrangements here. indeed, and now this news as i was mentioning before we came to you, chris, the news that the dup first minister paul given intends to announce his resignation from his post this afternoon, that is a braking line coming from the nolan show. is this connected to what edwin poots said last night? what can you tell us? it certainly is connected to the dup's opposition to the northern ireland protocol. as we said, in the last few minutes my colleagues on the nolan show on bbc radio ulster have been reporting that paul given, the first minister in the stormont executive, the senior democratic senior democratic

many dup decided to remove their first ministerfrom stormont, which means that the sinn fein deputy firsted office which means effectively there is no political decision—making here. departmental ministers are here and can make some decisions and enact some legislation already going through the assembly but there cannot be any new law making a major decision that we do not know how long that will last. there are elections due to take place here in early may, there has been some speculation they could be brought forward to resolve this crisis. but there is not unanimous agreement on that. at the moment, political decision—making here in northern ireland is to some degree at least, interrupted because of the democratic unionist party's decision, which it says is its only option, having reached the end of its road in terms of the frustration with the northern ireland protocol�*s operation and the impact those rules are having on business and the economy in northern ireland and what they see as northern ireland's status within the united kingdom having been reduced by that protocol and the wa

brought her for the deputy first minister michelle 0weill— deputy first minister michelle o�*neill of sinn fein appears to contradict the advice that the minister has had some wood actually— that the minister has had some wood actually means in the ground and northern— actually means in the ground and northern ireland just is not clear yet. northern ireland 'ust is not clear et. �* , ., ., yet. i'm interested in one more thin. yet. i'm interested in one more thing- the _ yet. i'm interested in one more thing. the whole _ yet. i'm interested in one more thing. the whole or _ yet. i'm interested in one more thing. the whole or one - yet. i'm interested in one more thing. the whole or one of- yet. i'm interested in one more thing. the whole or one of the l thing. the whole or one of the standoffs around northern ireland and brexit was the eu desire to protect its single market. if these checks are not happening, does that undermine any arrangement that is in place via the northern ireland protocol? place via the northern ireland rotocol? .. , ., protocol? exactly. the eu would an ue protocol? exac

sinn fein described the move by the dup's agriculture minister edwin poots, as a stunt.ondent emma vardy. well, this has immediately angered other parties in the executive that what he does is essentially go against that original brexit deal which the uk government signed up to with the eu for that what he does is essentially go against that original brexit deal which the uk government signed up to with the eu. 0f signed up to with the eu. of course those irish sea border checks were over the island of ireland. but they've always been very to buy you a new nose. the dup piece it bit looking every which way to oppose them in the agricultural has been hinting that he could order his department to simply stop carrying them out. tonight he is now taken that step saying that he has had legal advice that he can do this. of course now this puts border staff at northern ireland sports editor every thing is very difficult position. will they need to waive lorries through that don't bring that new paperwork or will they argue that they are still legally obliged to carry out these

his resignation means the deputy first minister michelle 0'neill of sinn fein also loses her position announced that david goodwillie, will not play for them and said they "got it wrong" by signing him_ it follows widespread protests about the decision to sign the striker earlier this week, because of a court ruling in a civil case five years ago that he had raped a woman. the bafta nominations were announced earlier, with the sci—fi epic dune leading the way and in the running for 11 awards. the power of the dog — starring benedict cumberbatch — has been nominated eight times. and there were six nominations for sir kenneth branagh's, belfast. the ceremony takes place on the 13th of march. the united states says it has intercepted a russian plan that would have given the kremlin a pretext for the invasion of ukraine. the white house say the plan was to fake a video of a fabricated attack by the ukrainian army on russian separatists in eastern ukraine. officials have not released any direct evidence of that russian plan or how they learned of it. but it's a question i put to the deputy

sinn fein and other nationalists think the protocol is the only sensible way of ensuring there is nocross the uk and the commonwealth to trooping the colour. the queen's 70th anniversary of ascending to the throne is on sunday, making her the first british monarch to reach the milestone. here's matt. you spoil us with your images this morning. yes, lovely. some sunshine around but with it feeling colder. colder air is pushing to all parts today. not quite with you in east anglia and southern england. some good temperature contrasts across southern parts of the uk. bristol, cambridge, 9—10. just up the road, barely above freezing for some. the dividing line is this rain. turning to sleet and snow over the hills and reaching kent by nine o'clock. away from it a bright start for most but showers in western scotland and northern ireland means icy conditions. hill sleet and snow during the day. flurries on the hills in northern england and wales with sunshine. this afternoon, when the rain has cleared, much of the south and east will be dry and sunny. a blustery day for all. it will have

other parties in the power—sharing executive disagree, the likes of sinn fein, the cross community allianceuropean commission and you get the sense people will wait to see what happens on the ground in belfast and other ports. they are trying to work out if this is politics at the heart of the northern ireland government they do not want to get into. we heard accusations this is a stunt and i think they are taking a wait—and—see approach. the foreign secretary liz truss will have a phone call later with her commission counterpart. they have conversations about all things brexit. we know for more than a year since the uk has left the eu rules in the main part, there have been differences of opinions but they have been overshadowed recently because of the alleged parties and parties taking place at westminster and also concerns russia may invade ukraine. in a wider sense, france has a presidential election, germanyjust has a new government. it is not top of the agenda in brussels. they are talking also about energy prices and the cost of living for people across europe. so it is not top of th