Government accused of making no progress on the NI protocol

The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) bill had its second reading on Tuesday.

The bill would extend the deadline for forming an executive in Northern Ireland. It would also see MLA salaries slashed by around a third while the Assembly is unable to conduct business.

Speaking in the debate, DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said: “I made absolutely clear that we would not nominate ministers to an executive until decisive action had been taken to address the difficulties created by the Northern Ireland Protocol”.