What now for Northern Ireland as assembly grinds to halt?

Focus now is what the British government will do on the future of the Northern Ireland protocol

The DUP has said it will not nominate ministers to form a new executive until its concerns about the Northern Ireland protocol are resolved.

The Democratic Unionist party's decision not to back the election of a new speaker for the Northern Ireland Assembly leaves the assembly unable to function.

It also marks an escalation after the party previously indicated it would not nominate for the position of deputy first minister because of its hostility to the post-Brexit trading arrangements.