Refusal to nominate speaker will derail legislature and raise stakes in London’s dispute with Brussels
The Democratic Unionist party has vowed to paralyse the Stormont assembly and block the formation of an executive in a dramatic escalation of its campaign against the Northern Ireland protocol.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, said his party would refuse to nominate a speaker when the assembly meets for its inaugural session on Friday afternoon, a move that will derail the legislature and raise the stakes in a dispute over the protocol between London and Brussels.