unionist party. mr speaker, i... their current leader. unionist party. mr speaker, i... and they backed their current leaderi nominate arlene foster to be first minister. next, sinn fein. there can be no return to the status quo. if something is broken, you stop and you fix it. that is the sinn fein approach. but they refused to put forward a name, so wearing the power—sharing government. —— so ending. what does all this mean? uncertainty for northern ireland. without an executive, key areas of government will be stored and most importantly, there is brexit. where will be the northern ireland voice and crucial decisions are taken? we are ina and 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 we are also commits the end of the financial year is possibly the worst time we could be entering into this kind of disarray. why macri recent years have changed northern ireland, but the shadows o

we have heard, for example, from the ulster unionist party, once the dominant unionist party, once the here in northern ireland, they said earlier in a brief statement to the media, look, to the voters who are frustrated by the collapse of the assembly, come and vote for parties at these elections, parties who are willing and ready to return to government. so as i began, clyde, another very eventful day here on the hill and what promises to be a very eventful period in politics over the next few months. indeed. many thanks for that. much more coming up but now it is time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'mjohn watson. coming up this evening: some murray magic in melbourne takes andy into the second round of the australian open. big boots to fill — bottas replaces rosberg at mercedes. and the record breaking efforts of the british sailor chasing victory in the vendee globe. it's ended in defeat for andy murray every time he's reached the final of the first tennis major of the year. but could 2017 be the year when the world number 0ne breaks that run? 0n the opening day i

first up, the democratic unionist party. mr speaker, i very readily...te 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. some still say they're confused, but we did get s

first up, the democratic unionist party. mr speaker, i very readily...ominate 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 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. a turkish cargo plane has crashed into a residential area close to the main airport in kyrgyz

unionist party.ment, 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, mart

you are suggesting that unionist anger at the incompetence of many believe was shown by arlene fosterod based at home and sinn fein become the leading party? it's possible but i wouldn't take a short price about it. in an election, the sectarian card tends to come about. would an ordinary unionist rather pay £50 to pay for the scandal or have a sinn fein first minister, don't expect an answer based in economics. thanks, john. and we'll find out how this story — and many others — are covered in tomorrow's front pages at 10:40 this evening in the papers — my guests tonight are the former conservative pensions minister ros altmann and the sports journalist mihir bose. the health secretaryjeremy hunt has indicated that a key nhs performance target could be scrapped. he told mps that the guarantee that all hospital a&e patients be seen within four hours might only apply in future to those in need of urgent care — and not to those with minor problems. mr hunt said there needed to be an "honest discussion with the public about the purpose of a&e departments." here's our health correspondent

before arlene foster, there were two other unionist first ministers, ian paisley and peter ronson.ng everything for the protestants. but now you have this fairly new first minister, arlene foster, and she stands accused of tremendous incompetence in what she has done on the hit front, but also in terms of thinking of things in a very tribal way. so if you talk to anybody in republican west belfast, they will say arlene foster is against us and she is against us getting anything. that explains mr mcguinness talking about the lack of movement on an irish language act, for instance, a lack of mutual respect and equality for catholics with protestants. that is what he is driving at? it is indeed. he got on very well with her two predecessors in office, but since she took over, he hasn't established the kind of personal rapport that he had with mr paisley and mr robinson. he has failed in that because he hasn't managed to get the kind of french are going that he had with mr paisley. that means that the stormont assembly, the whole system here is coming, if not quite into disrepute, it i

republicans and unionists found that they could work together.ess and ian paisley got on so well they were nicknamed the chuckle brothers. but in recent times the atmosphere has soured. there have been disagreements on a number of issues. now the way forward is uncertain. under the power—sharing system the first and deputy first ministers have to work together. if one resigns the other cannot continue. in effect, the political institutions have collapsed. for year after year many people here in northern ireland and elsewhere have marvelled at what political leaders here have achieved in the past decade. those achievements are in jeopardy now and it's not, as might have been expected, over a constitutional issue or a security crisis, it's over a heating scheme. political leaders here have overcome so many problems. but if they cannot find a solution to this in the next seven days, there will have to be elections to a new northern ireland assembly. nicholas witchell, bbc news, belfast. millions of commuters have had a difficult start to the week, a

people think this is a weakness of the democratic unionist at it, so let's ta ke democratic unionist go back to the country and a winter election, so be it.“ arlene foster had stepped aside just for the inquiry, this wouldn't have happened. is that a fair point? possibly, but we have no certainty of that. one has to look at other circumstances that are at play. sinn fein are under considerable pressure. it is no secret that we run rings around sinn fein and they clearly don't like that. i have the impression that this is about much wider issues, which are about possibly a new sinn fein tactic and how they handled themselves in northern ireland, perhaps installing a new leaderfrom the northern ireland, perhaps installing a new leader from the south of ireland as opposed to one from the north. that is what this is more about, and about internal republican politics and how they stand within the nationalist community. that is what we are seeing playing out under the main headline of the energy scandal. but that is politics. the big question is, is this a return to the big crisis? thank g

first up, the democratic unionist party. mr speaker, i very readily...urrent 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, belfast. campaigning for the snap election wil

northern ireland's democratic unionist leader and former first minister, arlene foster, has said theng for a period of direct rule from the uk's central government in london. the power—sharing government in northern ireland is in crisis following the resignation of sinn fein‘s martin mcguiness as the deputy first minister. nicholas witchell reports from belfast. the speaker: the secretary of state for northern ireland. it all has echoes of unhappier times. in the house of commons, a british minister was making an emergency statement. right honourable and honourable members should be in no doubt, the situation we face in northern ireland today is grave and the government treats it with the utmost seriousness. the situation to which he was referring was the collapse of the power—sharing government at stormont. a decade of broad consensus between republicans and unionists have broken down. 0n the surface, it's about a green energy scheme, the cost of which was found to have been exorbitant. the scheme was originally overseen by the democratic unionist leader and now former first ministe

first up, the democratic unionist party. mr speaker, i very readily...inn 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. then what will happen will be a period of negotia

republicans and unionists found that they could work together.rothers. but in recent times the atmosphere has soured. there have been disagreements on a number of issues. now the way forward is uncertain. under the power—sharing system the first and deputy first ministers have to work together. if one resigns the other cannot continue. in effect, the political institutions have collapsed. for year after year many people here in northern ireland and elsewhere have marvelled at what political leaders here have achieved in the past decade. those achievements are in jeopardy now and it's not, as might have been expected, over a constitutional issue or a security crisis, it's over a heating scheme. political leaders here have overcome so many problems. but if they cannot find a solution to this in the next seven days, there will have to be elections to a new northern ireland assembly. nicholas witchell, bbc news, belfast. 0ur northern ireland political editor mark devenport is at stormont tonight. how serious a threat is this to political stability is

the democratic unionist leader, arlene foster, has said northern ireland is "undoubtedly" heading forernment is in crisis following the resignation of sinn fein‘s martin mcguiness as deputy first minister. the main cause of the dispute is the mishandling of an energy scheme which could cost the taxpayer hundreds of millions of pounds. 0ur correspondent, nicholas witchell, reports from belfast. the speaker: the secretary of state for northern ireland. it all has echoes of unhappier times. in the house of commons, a british minister was making an emergency statement. right honourable and honourable members should be in no doubt, the situation we face in northern ireland today is grave and the government treats it with the utmost seriousness. the situation to which he was referring was the collapse of the power—sharing government at stormont. a decade of broad consensus between republicans and unionists have broken down. 0n the surface, it's about a green energy scheme, the cost of which was found to have been exorbitant. the scheme was originally overseen by the democratic unionist lead

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.

but the partnership between unionists and irish republicans has always been an easy.greements 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 would be an easy process. devolution has lasted for almost a decade in northern ireland, at stormont may not survive its most serious crisis. coming up at 6:00am on breakfast: charlie and naga will have all the day's news. they will also have more on why doctors say a system in place to r

a decade of broad consensus between republicans and unionists have broken down. 0n the surface, it'st. the scheme was originally overseen by the democratic unionist leader and the out going first minister, arlene foster. the major sticking point between us over this last few weeks has been the fact that sinn fein would not agree to the establishment of an inquiry until i stepped aside as first minister. for me, i felt to have done so would have led to the conclusion that i was guilty of something improper, which is not the case. across in west belfast the leader of sinn fein, gerry adams, was issuing two warnings — a return to direct rule from london would not be acceptable and neither would a return to the same power—sharing arrangements with the democratic unionists after an election. if the dup think that they're going to waltz out of government or are have an election and then waltz back into government on the same terms as caused the collapse, then they'll have to make their mind up. the politics of northern ireland can seem pretty impenetrable from outside, but here's the essen

unionists, nationalists, and everyone else in our society. during that time he has faced threats, a lack of respect, and afailure faced threats, a lack of respect, and a failure by the dup to reciprocate his trojan efforts. he persevered because it was the right thing to do. the dup have again treated these institutions and sections of the community with co nte m pt sections of the community with contempt and arrogance. they have displayed disrespects towards women, towards the gay community, towards ethnic minorities, the irish language and irish identity. that has diminished the credibility of these institutions. the rhi scandal was created by the former first minister when she was in the economy department. her refusal to step aside shows a total disregard for the concerns and outrage of the public. tim mcguinness resigned as deputy first minister because that was the right thing to do. —— martin mcguinness. we will not tolerate the arrogance and the disrespect of the dup. sinn fein and the public will not tolerate financial scandal, incom

but the partnership between unionists and irish republicans has always been uneasy.ments 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 be an easy process. devolution has lasted for almost a decade in northern ireland, but stormont may not survive its most serious crisis. the inquests into the deaths of 30 british holidaymakers killed in a terror attack in tunisia are due to open at the royal courts ofjustice later tod

he's had enough of what he calls the arrogance of the democratic unionists. today is the time to call a halt to the dup's arrogance. so, what is it that threatens to wreck a decade of political progress? it's something called the renewable heat incentive scheme. suffice it to say that it's likely to cost the northern ireland taxpayer £500 million more than expected. the minister who set up the scheme was arlene foster. she's now dup leader and first minister of northern ireland. tonight, via social media, she responded to mr mcguinness‘s departure. i am, of course, disappointed that martin mcguinness has chosen to take the position he has today. his actions have meant that, at precisely the time when we need our government to be active, we will have no government. martin mcguinness‘s resignation quite possibly brings to an end the career of a man who was once a committed and active republican paramilitary. in the 1970s he was second in command of the ira in derry. can you say whether the bombing is likely to stop in the near future in response to any public d

long—running tensions between the democratic unionists and sinn fein came to a head over a financialat incentive began in 2012 and had overly generous subsidies and initially no other payment limits. upper payment limits. the scheme closed in february last year, having run almost half a billion over budget. political controversy grew. the dup leader, arlene foster, had previously been the minister in charge of the project. in december, sinn fein said she should temporarily stand down as first minister. she repeatedly refused. seven days ago, martin mcguinness resigned in protest. the power—sharing partnership between irish republicans and unionists has always been uneasy and it's often been unstable. restoring it may take some time and people here already worried about the prospect of losing their devolved government. a key moment for the stormont executive had been due to come this week. an inquiry has been examining the scale of historical child abuse in residential institutions. its report will be published on friday but now it looks like there will be no ministers to act on the r

a senior unionist politician has said northern ireland is facing a "prolonged period" of direct rulesterday. it came after weeks of tensions between his party and their partners in the power—sharing government, the democratic unionists. our ireland correspondent chris page is in stormont. is there any way this crisis can be resolved? 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 betw

it gives me the greatest pleasure to introduce to you, the new national unionist women members.t took a long time to get women into parliament. the first female mp to take her seat, nancy astor, was elected 98 years ago. eventually, more would follow. they fought and died to get representation in parliament, but now modern women mps face their own struggle. what you are looking at are tweets, the abusive tweets my team screenshot. and mclauchlan mp won't read the abue as she receives online, which is just as well, it's deeply personal. she doesn't really want to share it. it takes a lot of strength not to. it's very tempting, if you are alone at night and nobody can see you if you get upset and you cry, to just have a look. but why would i do that to myself? but it's notjust hurtful insults on social media, there's an even darker side of death threats and violence. jo cox was murdered outside her constituency surgery last june. such threats are faced by male members of parliament to, members of parliament too, but two thirds of the female mps he spoke to said they felt less safe

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

well, the leader of the ulster unionist party, mike nesbitt has been giving his reaction.he renewable heat incentive scheme, sinn fein would hang in, they would hold the dup and the first minister to account, they would support practical steps to introduce the cost controls, the absence of which still cost us £85,000 a day and they would support a public inquiry into what went wrong. this is not the way to go forward, but it is not about the rhi scheme in terms of sinn fein's analysis, this is about sinn fein. we have had ten years now of the dup and sinn fein at the heart of our government. ten years characterised by disappointments, debackles and scandals. i don't think the electorate need anymore proof of the fact that the dup and sinn fein are incapable of governing this country. they cannot see the concept of the greater good and if we are to have an election, and an election is to prove to be of any worth, then i think people need to reflect on the fact that it is time to change the record. that for the first time since 1998 they can either vote to return the parties

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

sinn fein, of course, being the main republican party here, the dup being the main unionist party. side of that coin is that earlier, the dup accused sinn fein of not working with them and acting in political self—interest and creating the conditions in which the secretary of state has probably no choice now but to call elections to this assembly. a lot of vitriol, it sets the scene for a very difficult election period if, as we expect, that happens within the next hour or so, we are expecting to hear from james brokenshire, but first of all, let's look at the picture up to this point with chris page. after a week with no functioning government, this is the moment when northern ireland's power—sharing executive finally collapsed. today, sinn fein will not renominate for the position of deputy first minister. sinn fein has honoured all agreements. we have striven to make these institutions work. sinn fein‘s refusal to replace martin mcguinness as deputy first minister means stormont can't operate any longer. that's because under the power—sharing system, the first and deputy first m

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

over 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. so today, i have told arlene foster that 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. millions of commuters have had a difficult start to the week after a strike on the london underground shut down most of the network. one of the capital's busiest train stations — clapham junction — had to be evacuated for a time as large numbers of people tried to use overground services instead. the strike, which ended at 6pm, is over staff numbers and safety on the tube. our correspondent daniel boettcher is at piccadilly circus

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

party arrogance and co nte m pt unionist party arrogance and contempt for wider society, the basis of 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 now. let us find out how the weather is looking. as we have seen, it is cloudy and damp. the best

long—running tensions between the democratic unionists and sinn fein came to a head over a financiale heat incentive began in 2012 and had overly—generous subsidies and initially no upper payment limits. the scheme closed in february last year, having run almost half a billion over budget. political controversy grew. the dup leader, arlene foster, had previously been the minister in charge of the project. in december, sinn fein said she should temporarily stand down as first minister. she repeatedly refused. seven days ago, martin mcguinness resigned in protest. the power—sharing partnership between irish republicans and unionists has always been uneasy and it's often been unstable. restoring it may take some time and people here are worried about the prospect of losing their devolved government. a key moment for the stormont executive had been due to come this week. an inquiry has been examining the scale of historical child abuse in residential institutions. its report will be published on friday but now it looks like there will be no ministers to act on the recommendations. we jus

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

archive: it gives me the greatest pleasure to introduce to you, the new national unionist women membershave social media, unlike the 195 female mps today. right, what you are looking at are tweets, the abusive tweets my team screen shotted. ann mcloughlin, mp, won't read the abuse she receives online. which is just as well, it is deeply personal, she doesn't really want to share it. it takes a lot of strength not to. it's very tempting if you're alone at night and nobody can see you, if you get up and cry, to have a look but why would i do that to myself? i have to say i very much see the silver lining in not getting re—elected, the silver lining being that i may never have to put with that sort of abuse again in my life because it doesn't happen unless you have some kind of high—profile, and then people think that they have some kind of carte blanche to call you whatever they call you. but it's notjust hurtful insults on social media, there's an even darker side of death threats and violence. jo cox was murdered outside of her constituency surgery last june. two thirds of female mps we

he said he had been left feeling mystified at claims of bias from unionists and some conservative mpss on these prosecutions and the possibility of more to come, it seems the question of how to deal with the legacy of northern ireland's troubles remains unanswered. given that the secretary of state has said this, has there been any public reaction to this? it is an emotive subject. very much so, and very controversial. yesterday we saw some former soldiers who had served in northern ireland march past parliament. they were speaking yesterday. today we have not heard a lot of political reaction, we are in an election phase here, going to the polls on the 2nd of march, and this will continue to be an issue that star is very strong emotions politically and publicly. living standards could be set to fall this year, according to a report by a leading think tank. the resolution foundation said that although the uk experienced a mini—boom from 2014 to the beginning of 2016, rising prices and stagnating wages mean a bigger squeeze on our income. our business correspondent joe lynam reports. i

is worth remembering what a central figure martin mcguinness played in bridging the gap between unionistsat power—sharing here. of course that power—sharing government has collapsed in recent weeks and that means the challenges begin almost immediately for michelle o'neill. election posters are already going up. even after votes are cast there will have to be negotiations between sinn fein and the gu p2 tried to get power—sharing back up and running again. all indications are that those talks are not going to be easy. all right, chris, thank you very much. government scientists are warning that overcooked potatoes, toast and crisps could increase the risk of developing cancer. the food standards agency says a potentially harmful compound called acrylamide is produced when starchy foods are roasted, fried or grilled for too long at high temperatures. however, cancer research charities have questioned the evidence. here's our health correspondent dominic hughes. they are classic comfort foods. a nice slice of toast or a crisp roast potato. but do they really carry a risk of causing cancer?

he said he had been left feeling mystified at claims of bias from unionists and some conservative mps prosecutions and the possibility of more to come, it seems the question of how to deal with the legacy of northern ireland's troubles remains unanswered. given that the secretary of state has said this, has there been any public reaction to this? it is an emotive subject. very much so, and very controversial. yesterday we saw some former soldiers who had served in northern ireland march past parliament. they were speaking yesterday. today we have not heard a lot of political reaction, we are in an election phase here, going to the polls on the 2nd of march, and this will continue to be an issue that star is very strong emotions politically and publicly. roger federer has won the israeli and open men's singles title, beating rafael nadal. it was a five set nail—biting finish, going right to the end, and it gives roger federer his 18th grand slam title. astonishing since he came back from injury to do this. plenty more in a few minutes in our sports bulletin. the headlines: president tr