britain have had to undergo new checks when they reach northern ireland's ports. tonight, the dup department responsible for operating these checks has ordered civil servants to stop carrying them out. i have now issued a formal instruction to my permanent secretary to halt all checks that were not in place on the 31st of december 2020 from midnight tonight. i will prepare a paper for executive consideration in the nearfuture i will prepare a paper for executive consideration in the near future to seek a way forward. thank you. the new checks — seek a way forward. thank you. the new checks on _ seek a way forward. thank you. the new checks on goods crossing the irish sea were part of the brexit deal that the uk government signed up deal that the uk government signed up to to avoid the need for checks on goods which travel into the irish republic. for unionists, who view this as effectively severing northern ireland's place in the uk, they have been a source of much contention. but it's an arrangement which is supported by other parties in northern ireland. the government in dublin says ordering the checks to stop goes against an