Northern Ireland's agriculture minister has issued an order to halt all post-Brexit checks on food and farming products coming from the rest of the UK from midnight.
The agrifood checks at Northern Ireland's ports are required under the terms of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which is designed to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Edwin Poots, former leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), says he will seek an agreement from the power-sharing government on a way forward in the near future.
He said he made the decision based on legal advice but Sinn Fein, the party the DUP shares power with, said it was unlawful and "a stunt".
The Irish government said halting checks would effectively be a breach of international law.
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Image:Edwin Poots made the announcement on Wednesday evening
Speaking at Northern Ireland's assembly, Mr Poots, whose party opposes the protocol, said: "I have taken legal advice in relation to my position from senior counsel. Earlier today, I received that legal advice.
"The advice concluded that I can direct the checks to cease in the absence of Executive approval.
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"I have now issued a formal instruction to my permanent secretary to halt all checks that were not in place on 31 December 2020 from midnight tonight."
The UK and the EU have been in talks for months to change the protocol that has effectively created a border in the Irish Sea, angering the pro-British DUP.
Northern Ireland's deputy first minister Michelle O'Neill, of Sinn Fein which supports the protocol, said: "This stunt is an attempt by the DUP to unlawfully interfere with domestic, and international law.
"DUP fixated on their own priorities, which are clearly at odds with where the wider community is at. Health, Jobs, Housing, Cost of living crisis is where the rest of us are focused."
The Northern Ireland Protocol
The UK and EU agreed to put the protocol in place after Brexit to avoid the introduction of a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
It states that Northern Ireland will remain part of the UK's customs territory - so if the UK signs a free-trade deal with another country, Northern Irish goods would be included.
However, it says Northern Ireland has to stick to some EU rules to allow goods to move freely into the Republic and the rest of the EU.
Goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland will not be subject to a tariff unless they are "at risk" of being moved into the EU afterwards.
But Environment Secretary George Eustice said in 2020 there would need to be "some checks on some goods" and "some customs processes but not customs checks" at the border with the Republic.
Simon Coveney, Ireland's foreign minister, warned: "If a political decision is taken by a minister in Northern Ireland to stop all checks in ports on goods coming across the Irish Sea that is effectively a breach of international law and I would remind everybody that the implementation of the protocol is part of international law.
"To deliberately frustrate obligations under that treaty I think would be a very serious matter indeed.
"It is essentially playing politics with legal obligations and I certainly hope that it doesn't happen, as has been threatened and described."
Last week, British Foreign Secretary and Brexit negotiator Liz Truss said the DUP's threats to halt checks were a matter for the Northern Ireland regional government to resolve, rather than for Westminster to intervene.
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Ministers have unveiled plans to tackle regional inequality - but Labour says the proposals lack ambition and new money to fund them.
The levelling up strategy aims to close the gap between rich and poor areas by 2030 through improving services such as education, broadband and transport.
Michael Gove said it would mean people can "take back control of their lives".
But Labour asked: "Seriously, is this it?" - while researchers criticised the lack of detail.
"This system is completely broken and he's given us more of the same," said Lisa Nandy, Labour's shadow levelling up secretary.
Economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies also suggested the government may have chosen its destination "with no sense" of how to get there.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson put "levelling up" at the heart of the Conservatives' election-winning manifesto in 2019.
The government has previously launched a number of schemes aimed at boosting regional development - but has faced claims the policy lacks definition.
On Wednesday it set out its White Paper - an official document outlining its strategy. It comes as the government tries to return to its key policy agenda after weeks of headlines about the Downing Street lockdown parties.
Announcing the strategy, Levelling Up Secretary Mr Gove said "while talent is spread equally across the United Kingdom, opportunity is not".
"Our economy has been like a jet propelled by only one engine, now we need to fire up every resource we have," he said. "And the economic prize from levelling up is potentially enormous."
Mr Gove set out how much money would be spent on levelling up - although most of the funding has already been announced.
But the White Paper includes £100m of new investment for innovation centres to boost research and development in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow, as well as a £1.5bn fund to give loans to small and medium-sized house builders for new homes mostly outside London and the South-East.
Mr Gove also outlined other funding pledges, including:
£5bn in bus services and active travel
£1.8bn invested in new housing infrastructure, turning brownfield land into projects across the country
£230m extra in grassroots football
£30m allocated to improving parks and urban green spaces
An extra £560m in activities for young people
An additional £150m in a safer streets fund
But analysts at think tank the Policy Exchange said the White Paper "makes few commitments above the 2021 Spending Review, for example".
And Labour's Ms Nandy said: "So that money is money that is earmarked every year, and it's just been allocated in this White Paper to the same places that would normally get it - this is rehashed, recycled money."
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also called it "rehashed announcements" and that the White Paper was an attempt to distract people from "an utterly discredited prime minister".
Mr Gove previously told the BBC the strategy was not aimed at providing new funding but ensuring money was spent effectively on local priorities.
The problem the government seeks to solve with its "levelling up" agenda is clear - the fact the UK is one of the world's most geographically unequal major economies - and that has worsened over the past three decades.
The pledges on spending in the White Paper are rather limited, reflecting the fiscal situation.
There are new commitments beyond the existing Spending Review, for what the PM describes as his "defining mission".
But where a mission such as this has been achieved, for example in post-unification Germany, there have been massive fiscal transfers from rich regions to poor ones, approaching one and a half trillion pounds, or £70bn a year.
The stark fact is that GDP per capita in some east German regions now exceeds that in some northern English regions.
The challenge is whether entrenched patterns of economic geography can really be changed without footing a very significant bill.
Most of the policies in the White Paper apply to England only, but the government has insisted levelling up is a UK-wide initiative and it wishes to work with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to achieve this.
And Mr Gove said it was not just about the economy.
"Economic opportunity spread more equally across the country is at the heart of levelling up," he said. "But it's also about community, it's about repairing the social fabric of our broken heartlands."
The strategy also includes a plan to create more regional mayors, like existing posts such as those held by Labour's Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, or the Conservatives' Andy Street in the West Midlands and Ben Houchen in Tees Valley.
Every part of England would have access to "London-style" powers and a mayor if they want it, according to the levelling-up strategy, with the expectation they would be able to target spending more effectively.
But analysts have warned the White Paper may struggle to reverse the past decade of cuts without adequate funding.
"There is a risk that the government has chosen its destination with no sense of how it plans to get there," said economic think tank the IFS.
"The targets are largely in the right areas, but many look extremely ambitious - that is to say highly unlikely to be met, even with the best policies and much resource.
"There is little detail on how most of them will be met, and less detail on available funding."
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The White Paper - which is 400 pages long and draws inspiration from Renaissance Italy - shows that in some areas the government has scaled back its ambitions.
A pledge to provide broadband nationwide capable of gigabit speeds - more than 10 times the average speed today - was originally due in 2025, but is now scheduled for 2030.
And in places such as Wakefield in West Yorkshire, people said bus routes were being cut rather than increased. Kath Lindley, who runs a local charity, said some services only ran every two hours, creating social isolation and cutting off young people from opportunities.
Mr Gove's White Paper is bringing all the existing schemes together into 12 "national missions" and sets up a system for measuring progress.
Among the 12 missions are promises to refocus education spending on disadvantaged parts of the country and eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy; bring the rest of the country's public transport closer to London standards, and provide access to 5G broadband for the "large majority" of households.
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The 12 'levelling up missions' in full
Increase pay, employment and productivity in all areas of the UK, with each one containing a "globally competitive city"
Raise public investment in research and development outside the south-east of England by 40%
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Boris Johnson is poised to announce billions of pounds in state-backed loans to reduce the impact of soaring energy prices on household bills.
The prime minister and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, have agreed to a “rebate and clawback” scheme, in which taxpayers will underwrite loans to energy firms.
Companies will pass the money on to every household in Britain in the form of a rebate on energy bills, limiting the impact of price rises in April.
Sheila, 79, cannot afford her gas bills and runs to stay warm
The firms will recoup the money from consumers in subsequent years to pay back the loans as energy prices fall.
Government sources said the plans had been approved by ministers and would be announced in the coming days, possibly tomorrow.
Sources in the industry believe that the government may
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Long-awaited plans to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the country have been announced by the government.
The strategy, unveiled by Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove, will take until 2030 and aims to improve services such as education, broadband and transport.
Boris Johnson put "levelling up" at the heart of the Conservatives' election-winning manifesto in 2019.
But Labour said the plans contained no new money and little fresh thinking.
The launch of the strategy sees the government try to return to its key policy agenda after weeks of pressure on the prime minister over reports of parties held at Downing Street during lockdown restrictions.
The government has previously launched a number of schemes aimed at boosting regional development - but has faced claims the policy lacks definition.
At the heart of the strategy is a plan to create more regional mayors, such as existing posts like Labour's Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester, or the Conservative's Andy Street in the West Midlands and Ben Houchen in Tees Valley.
Every part of England would have access to "London-style" powers and a mayor if they want it, according to the levelling-up strategy.
Mr Gove's plans would bring all existing initiatives together into 12 "national missions" and set up a system for measuring progress.
Among the 12 missions are promises to refocus education spending on disadvantaged parts of the country and eliminate illiteracy and innumeracy; bring the rest of the country's public transport up to London standards, and provide access to 5G broadband for the "large majority" of households.
The problem that the government seeks to solve with its 'levelling up' agenda is clear - the fact that the UK is one of the world's most geographically unequal major economies - and that has worsened over the past three decades.
The pledges on spending in the White Paper are rather limited, reflecting the fiscal situation.
There are new commitments beyond the existing Spending Review, for what the PM describes as his "defining mission".
But where a mission such as this has been achieved, for example in post-unification Germany, there have been massive fiscal transfers from rich regions to poor ones approaching one and a half trillion pounds, or £70bn a year.
The stark fact is that GDP per capita in some east German regions now exceeds that in some northern English regions.
The challenge is whether entrenched patterns of economic geography can really be changed without footing a very significant bill?
Many of Mr Gove's missions are existing government policies, with funds already allocated to them, but he says they will be enshrined in law for the first time.
Most of the policies in the White Paper apply to England only, but the government insists levelling up is a UK-wide initiative and it wishes to work with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to achieve this.
The plan includes £100m of new government funding for "innovation accelerators" to boost research and development in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands and Glasgow City-Region.
Mr Gove said: "For too long our country has been over-centralised and you've had the elites in London who haven't really understood all of the problems that communities like Grimsby and Cleethorpes face.
"So there's going to be more power for local communities and also the public money, the taxpayers' money the government spends, is going to be spent closer to those communities."
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The 12 'levelling up missions' in full
Increase pay, employment and productivity in all areas of the UK, with each one containing a "globally competitive city"
Raise public investment in research and development outside the south-east of England by 40%
Increase the number of people completing high quality skills training - in England, this will mean 200,000 more people a year
Bring the rest of the country's public transport up to London standards
Provide access to 5G broadband for the "large majority" of households
Create more first-time homebuyers in all areas, and reduce the number of "non-decent rented homes" by 50%
Narrow the gap of healthy life expectancy between the areas where it is lowest and highest
Improve "well-being" in every area of the UK
Increase "pride of place", such as people's satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community
Reduce murder, manslaughter, serious violence and neighbourhood crime, especially in the worst-affected areas
Give every part of England that wants it a devolution deal with more regional powers and simplified, long-term funding
Labour has set out its own five-point plan for levelling up, including better broadband for towns and villages, action to tackle anti-social behaviour in city centres, and more affordable housing.
For Labour, shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said: "Ministers have had two-and-a-half years to get this right and all we've been given is more slogans and strategies, with few new ideas."
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Meanwhile, a report by the National Audit Office, which scrutinises public spending, has criticised the government for having a "limited" understanding of what has worked well when setting up its programme for regional economic growth.
It said that, by November last year, it had committed £11bn through policies to support the regeneration of towns and communities across the UK for the period from 2020-1 to 2025-6.
NAO head Gareth Davies said: "The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has not consistently evaluated its past interventions to stimulate local economies, so it doesn't know whether billions of pounds of public spending has had the impact intended.
"With its focus on levelling up, it is vital that the department puts robust evaluation arrangements in place for its new schemes to promote local growth."
Downing Street has refused to comment on reports that reveal details of lockdown parties Boris Johnson is alleged to have attended.
In new allegations this evening, two newspapers detail claims the PM attended a party in his flat and also went to two separate leaving dos.
In the pared-back report released by Sue Gray on Monday, she revealed three lockdown events in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office that had previously not been publicly known about.
These events are being investigated by the Metropolitan Police and Ms Gray gave little detail about them yesterday.
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5:15
Boris Johnson says 'I will fix it'
Mr Johnson is reported to have given a speech at two of the events, according to reports in The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph.
And further details claim to place Mr Johnson in his flat during a party he has refused to comment on.
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The three previously unknown events, Sue Gray's report says, were held on 18 June 2020, 17 December 2020 and 14 January 2021.
Asked by Sky News about the new allegations, Downing Street declined to comment.
PM 'seen going up to Mamma Mia flat party'
Following earlier reports a gathering was held in Mr Johnson's flat on 13 November 2020, the day his top adviser Dominic Cummings left, the Telegraph has now said the PM was seen heading up to his flat that evening. Mr Johnson has refused to comment on any reports.
His wife, Carrie Johnson, was reportedly there and Abba songs including The Winner Takes It All were heard, the Mail on Sunday reported.
On Tuesday, Mr Cummings claimed there were photographs of the "party" and others in the building could hear music.
Image:Boris and Carrie Johnson live in No 11 Downing Street but his office is in No 10. Pic: Andrew Parsons/10 Downing Street
'Alcohol and 20 people' while indoor mixing banned
On 18 June 2020, Ms Gray said an event at the Cabinet Office involved "the departure of a No 10 private secretary".
The private secretary is understood to be senior diplomat Hannah Young, according to The Guardian and The Telegraph.
She was Mr Johnson's lead official on home affairs policy and left to become deputy consul general in New York.
There were allegedly 20 people, alcohol was being drunk and Martin Reynolds, the PM's principal private secretary who organised the "bring your own booze" party, was there and had earlier contacted senior advisers for advice on holding the leaving do, the Telegraph said.
Regulations at the time banned indoor mixing, with the rule of six applied to outdoors.
Image:The PM's private secretary is understood to have asked advisers if he could host a leaving do for Hannah Young at the Cabinet Office
PM 'gave speech' at military adviser's leaving do
The 17 December 2020 event, called "a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a No 10 official" by Ms Gray, is understood to have been for Captain Steve Higham, the Telegraph said.
He was one of the PM's military and national security advisers and Mr Johnson is understood to have given a speech but, the Mirror earlier said he only stayed for a few minutes.
The day before, London had been placed in Tier 3, which meant there was no mixing of households indoors.
Image:The Met Police are investigating 12 events, with three of them newly revealed on Monday
Prosecco and PM speech
Ms Gray also revealed she and the police were looking into "a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries" on 14 January 2021.
It is understood one of them moved on to become a senior civil servant at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport while the other is unknown.
Prosecco was drunk, Mr Johnson is understood to have attended and, the Guardian reports, he gave a speech and left after five minutes.
England was in its third national lockdown at the time, with people prohibited from mixing indoors with other households, and it came a few weeks after Christmas was effectively cancelled.
The other two events the PM is believed to have attended that are being investigated by the Met are the 20 May 2020 "BYOB" party in the Number 10 garden and his birthday on 19 June 2020 in the Cabinet room at No 10.
The public would "hypothetically" be told if the prime minister was fined for breaking COVID rules, Downing Street has said - after earlier refusing to guarantee that would happen.
When asked on Tuesday morning if any fixed penalty notices would be made public as part of the Metropolitan Police's investigation into the partygate scandal, the prime minister's spokesman said it was for the Met to decide whether to reveal who has been fined.
But hours later, after being asked again, he said: "As the Met have made clear, generally speaking with Fixed Penalty Notice, individuals are not published in any way. Obviously, we are aware of the significant public interest regarding the prime minister, and would always look to provide what updates we can on him specifically."
Asked if that meant No 10 would reveal if Mr Johnson was given a fixed penalty notice, the spokesman said: "Hypothetically, yes."
Image:The Met Police said it does not normally reveal the names of people it gives fines to
No 10 indicated it may not reveal the names of other officials and MPs if they are fined after the Met pointed to College of Policing guidance that says the names of people handed fixed penalty notices, the likely punishment for breaching COVID regulations, would not normally be revealed.
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'We'll publish everything we can'
As No 10 decided whether it would name Mr Johnson if he was fined, the PM was in Ukraine to show the UK's support as more than 100,000 Russian troops amass at the border.
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But the Gray inquiry and partygate reared its head, with the PM being asked if he would commit to publish the full inquiry, including the 300 images included in the probe.
"Yes, of course we'll publish everything that we can as soon as the process has been completed, as I said yesterday," he said.
Asked if the inquiry's release on Monday overshadowed his focus on Ukraine, resulting in postponing a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Johnson said he will be talking to the Russian leader tomorrow.
Adding fuel to the fire, the PM's former top adviser Dominic Cummings said people he knows have pictures of a party inside the PM's flat on the day he left. It was reportedly a celebration of his departure.
In a question and answer session on his blog, Mr Cummings, who regularly speaks out against the PM, said there was "a chance" Ms Gray's full report could be leaked before the Met investigation is over as it will have to be circulated to lawyers and special advisers first.
He also said the "drinking culture" criticised in Ms Gray's report "is spin from the PM to try to shift blame from him".
Image:Boris Johnson was asked a question about the partygate scandal during a news conference with the Ukrainian president
Conservative MP hands in letter of no confidence
Back in the UK, all was not rosy for the PM, as another Tory MP said he has handed in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson.
Peter Aldous, MP for Waveney in Suffolk, said he has written to Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs, advising him he has no confidence in Mr Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party.
"After a great deal of soul-searching, I have reached the conclusion that the prime minister should resign," he wrote.
"It is clear that he has no intention of doing so.
"I have never taken such action before and had hoped that I would not be put in such an invidious position."
Image:Peter Aldous, the Conservative MP for Waveney, said he has handed in a letter of no confidence in the PM. Pic:HOC
He told Sky News the partygate scandal is "paralysing government" and there comes a time when you have to say "enough is enough, we need to move on with this".
Mr Aldous called Mr Johnson "a man of enormous talents" but the best thing would be for him to stand aside.
He added that if the PM had held his hands up when the stories about parties started in the autumn the public would have been more forgiving.
Mr Aldous, who has been an MP since 2010, is among a handful of Tory MPs who are understood to have handed in letters of no confidence following the lockdown events in Downing Street and Whitehall - with 54 letters needed to trigger a leadership vote.
Speaking after No 10's initial refusal, Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "This stinks of a cover up by Number 10. Even Richard Nixon [the US president who resigned over the Watergate scandal] believed a country deserves to know whether their leader is a crook.
"Boris Johnson must come clean with the public and resign if he's broken the rules and been fined by the police."
Asked if Downing Street should say if Mr Johnson is fined by police, Tory MP and former minister Liam Fox told Sky's deputy political editor Sam Coates: "I think we should have as much information as we can put out there.
"I think it's the only way to get closure in the end."
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Key points of the Gray report
Met Police combing through 300 photos
Number 10's latest comments come after the release of a partial version of Sue Gray's report into Downing Street gatherings during COVID-19 restrictions in 2020 and 2021.
Facing MPs in the Commons on Monday, Mr Johnson apologised and promised a shake-up of Number 10, insisting: "I get it and I will fix it."
The Met Police is investigating 12 gatherings, including an event that happened at the Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020 and an event to mark the PM's birthday on 19 June 2020.
The force said on Monday that it has received more than 300 photos and 500 pieces of paper as part of its inquiries.
Downing Street has said Mr Johnson will ask Ms Gray to "update her work" once the Metropolitan Police's investigation is finished and "he will publish that update".
He told Kay Burley that many members of the public will have felt "anger, grief and guilt" when looking back at how they obeyed COVID-19 restrictions over the last two years and the sacrifices they had to make.
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1:47
'People feel they've been taken for mugs'
Sir Keir said Mr Johnson is "debasing the office" of PM and has "got to go" in the wake of the release of a partial version of the Gray report, which he described as being as "damning as it could be".
Also speaking to Burley, deputy PM Dominic Raab claimed Mr Johnson cannot answer specific questions about lockdown parties in Downing Street because he does not want to prejudice the police investigation.
"If he does start answering specific questions that have been referred to the police, he will be accused, in fact fairly and rightly, of prejudicing or preventing or interfering in that investigation," Mr Raab said.
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1:43
'I get argument about double standards'
He said it was right that police were now given the "time and space" to carry out their investigation.
Sir Keir said Mr Raab's stance was "nonsense" and "bordering on the ridiculous", accusing the PM of "forcing all of his frontbenchers onto your programmes and others to make complete fools of themselves, peddling these absurd defences".
Blackford defends Commons outburst
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford told Sky News people are "outraged by a prime minister that simply won't accept responsibility".
Speaking to Kay Burley, he said Mr Johnson has "demeaned the office and he should have gone by now".
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0:28
PM is 'stranger to the truth'
Mr Blackford was thrown out of the Commons on Monday for accusing the PM of having "wilfully misled" MPs over the partygate row.
He defended his actions as the "right thing to do", adding: "At the end of the day I've been sent to Westminster to stand up for our constituents, to lead the SNP at Westminster.
"I have to call out the PM for the charlatan that he is."
