EU officials say they are monitoring the situation after the Northern Ireland executive's agriculture minister ordered the scrapping of checks on agri-foods coming from the mainland UK in what the Republic of Ireland called an "absolute breach of international law."

On Wednesday night Edwin Poots, from the pro-London DUP, ordered the immediate halt to checks required by the Northern Ireland Protocol, part of the Brexit agreement between the UK and the EU.

But EU Commissioner Eric Mamer said, "Preliminary information from our experts on the ground is indeed that the checks are continuing. 

"The protocol we have signed was with the British Government and it is for the UK Government to ensure the fulfilment of the agreement," he added.  
 

But British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said  on Thursday morning that it was "crazy" to have checks on goods from Britain heading only to Northern Ireland.

Johnson said that "practical common sense is what's needed" to resolve issues with the European Union (EU) over the Northern Ireland protocol.

"What we've got to do is get to a sensible solution that recognizes that it's crazy to have checks on goods that are basically circulating within the single market of the United Kingdom," Johnson told broadcasters.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss discussed the key sticking points over the protocol with EU Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovic on later Thursday.

First Minister's resignation

As part of the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998 Givan's DUP party maintains an often fraught power-sharing agreement with the pro-Ireland, Sinn Fein party.

The agreement, now threatened by the fallout from Johnson's Brexit agreement, has helped maintain peace in the British province.

Givan quitting automatically triggers the ousting of Sinn Fein's Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill, paralyzing decision-making in the region.

It would not necessarily lead to early elections, which opinion polls suggest will see Sinn Fein pass the DUP to become Northern Ireland's largest party for the first time.

Givan's resignation comes amid the DUP hemorrhaging support to other unionist groups over the protocol, and while Johnson faces numerous scandals threatening his role.