Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald has called for early elections after the North's First Minister Paul Givan resigned after just 231 days in the role.
The move has triggered a fresh crisis at Stormont and is part of the Democratic Unionist Party's protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol.
And it comes just 24-hours after Stormont's Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots ordered an end to Irish Sea border checks after saying he had received legal advice. Checks were meant to end at midnight, however, they were still taking place at Belfast Port on Thursday. LEADER LESS: Jeffrey Donaldson MP, the DUP leader, leaves the press conference in South Belfast at which the DUP First Minister announced he was resigning and effectively pulling down the government. Picture credit: Pacemaker
Mr. Givan's resignation means Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill automatically loses her post. This will take effect from midnight.
Other departmental ministers will remain in post and legislation already started through the Assembly will continue. However, with no Executive, ministers will be unable to make significant decisions.
.@MaryLouMcDonald "Let me be clear. The Protocol is essential. The Protocol is a consequence of Brexit - a Brexit the DUP campaigned vigorously for. The Protocol is here to stay." pic.twitter.com/WaCteEw3WQ
— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) February 3, 2022
Speaking at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in South Belfast, Mr. Givan said: “Today marks the end of what has been the privilege of my lifetime to serve as the First Minister of Northern Ireland.”
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson blamed the Protocol for "destabilizing" politics in the North.
"The Protocol remains a threat to Northern Ireland's place within the Union. The longer it remains, the more it will harm the Union itself.
"The Protocol is an existential threat to the Union. The Irish Sea Border must go."
Mr. Donaldson said his party had allowed time for progress to be made on the party's concerns over the Protocol.
BREAKING: @edwinpootsmla has announced he will be ordering his officials to stop NI Protocol checks from midnight tonight pic.twitter.com/Tw4q63rntp
— Tracey Magee (@Tracey_utv) February 2, 2022
He said it was time for "the people to have their say" and the party had "enough."
Secretary of State Brandon Lewis called for the DUP to re-instate a first minister "immediately."
Saying that the Protocol was here to stay and was a consequence of Brexit, which the DUP supported, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald called for an early election.
“In the absence of a functioning Executive an early election must be called and the people must have their say," she told a press conference at the Europa Hotel.
"We need to be clear the DUP actions have consequences, real consequences for people struggling with the cost of living.
"It is a matter of disgrace that the budget now won’t be passed and that investment in services such as cancer care and mental health are now in serious jeopardy.
"Today’s decision for Paul Givan to resign from the Executive is all about the DUP's own narrow and self-serving political interests."
Earlier, the decision by Mr. Poots to order an end to checks on goods coming into Northern Ireland from Britain as a breach of international law by Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney.
