NI Agri Min Blasted By EU COM Over Brexit Checks, NI First Min May Resign

Following the announcement from Northern Ireland Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots that he has instructed a senior civil servant to suspend customs and SPS checks on agricultural products arriving into Northern Ireland, the European Commission has released a strongly-worded statement voicing opposition to the move.

• "The decision by the Northern Irish Minister for Agriculture is therefore unhelpful. It creates further uncertainly and unpredictability for businesses and citizens in Northern Ireland. [...] It recalls the responsibility of the UK Government for the respect of the international obligations it has entered into. [...] controls on goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain are a key element of the Protocol. They are necessary for Northern Irish business and citizens to continue to benefit from access to the single market for goods. They are also necessary to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. The Protocol is the ONE AND ONLY solution we have found with the UK to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement."
• Stephen Nolan at BBC Radio Ulster tweets: "I understand the DUP plan to announce today the resignation of Paul Givan as First Minister". Givan has been a vocal opponent of the Northern Ireland Protocol. His resignation would leave a vacuum at the top of Northern Ireland's politics, with the DUP having gone through three first ministers in less than a year.