:00:07. > :00:09.This is a specially extended BBC Newsline on the day that
:00:10. > :00:12.Martin McGuinness resigned as the Deputy First Minister.
:00:13. > :00:17.He said it's "time to call a halt to the DUP's arrogance".
:00:18. > :00:21.Citing the DUP's behaviour over the renewable heat scandal,
:00:22. > :00:25.Mr McGuinness said the party was completely out of step
:00:26. > :00:27.with the public which is outraged at the squandering of money
:00:28. > :00:34.In his formal resignation letter, Mr McGuinness also said that
:00:35. > :00:36.the DUP had never fully embraced "the equality,
:00:37. > :00:41.mutual respect and all-Ireland approaches enshrined
:00:42. > :00:53.He said successive British governments had:
:00:54. > :00:59.He went on to say that the DUP leader Arlene Foster
:01:00. > :01:03.had "a clear conflict of interest" and as "the minister
:01:04. > :01:05.responsible for the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme she should have no
:01:06. > :01:12.Executive role in overseeing how it would be rectified."
:01:13. > :01:15.Mr McGuinness, who has been suffering from ill-health in recent
:01:16. > :01:18.months, said that had nothing to do with his decision to leave office.
:01:19. > :01:20.We'll hear live from our political editor Mark Devenport
:01:21. > :01:22.shortly but first our Political Correspondent Gareth
:01:23. > :01:24.Gordon reports on a resignation announcement that took
:01:25. > :02:01.He looked and sounded frail, but there was no doubting the strength
:02:02. > :02:08.of what Martin McGuinness was about to say. We will not tolerate the
:02:09. > :02:10.arrogance of Arlene Foster and the DUP. That's what this process must
:02:11. > :02:16.be about. So today I have told Arlene Foster that I have tendered
:02:17. > :02:22.my resignation, effective of five o'clock today. He made it clear this
:02:23. > :02:30.was not about the heating scandal. It's a despicable decision. The RHI,
:02:31. > :02:36.it cost something in the region apart billion pounds, and run the
:02:37. > :02:40.risk of being squandered. And left the process wide open to corruption.
:02:41. > :02:46.All of these things are hugely concerning for us in Sinn Fein, you
:02:47. > :02:51.can see by the way the debate on RHI has continued over the course of
:02:52. > :02:58.recent times, there is a massive public outcry. There may not be a
:02:59. > :03:04.public outcry with the ranks of the DUP but as I told Arlene Foster, the
:03:05. > :03:08.DUP are living in a bubble. They don't seem to understand how serious
:03:09. > :03:20.the general public, the voters, and the assembly make of this ridiculous
:03:21. > :03:26.situation, which bears full responsibility for the ministers of
:03:27. > :03:33.the DUP. Martin McGuinness was asked if his health was a factor. My
:03:34. > :03:35.health is nothing to do with this whatsoever. I have been deeply
:03:36. > :03:42.involved in all of the conversations in the last couple of weeks. I was
:03:43. > :03:50.here last week speaking to Arlene Foster, I have been doing my job. As
:03:51. > :03:56.it is appropriate for me to do so. It sounds like it'll take more than
:03:57. > :04:01.an election resolve this. There will be no return to the status quo,
:04:02. > :04:08.except on terms that are acceptable to Sinn Fein. The situation we have
:04:09. > :04:15.been dealing with in these last years is acceptable. --
:04:16. > :04:21.unacceptable. If the DUP think in the aftermath of an election that
:04:22. > :04:25.they will step back into ministerial positions without resolving critical
:04:26. > :04:29.issues, some of which I have identified during the course of this
:04:30. > :04:33.conversation, they are living in a fool 's paradise. And in an
:04:34. > :04:39.election, will Martin McGuinness be a candidate? That is something of a
:04:40. > :04:45.speaker about the later date, today is about Morris ignition. Ten years
:04:46. > :04:48.ago he began a relationship with a DUP leader that was warmer than
:04:49. > :04:54.anyone could have expected but as the scandal heated up, things would
:04:55. > :05:03.Arlene Foster cool down, and is Stormont now facing a long time in
:05:04. > :05:07.in the deep freeze? The resignation of the Deputy
:05:08. > :05:08.First Minister means Arlene Foster reacted
:05:09. > :05:12.to the Sinn Fein move via social media tonight saying
:05:13. > :05:13.she was disappointed Northern Ireland would have no
:05:14. > :05:23.government at a time when one Rather than seek to resolve this
:05:24. > :05:27.issue, Sinn Fein would rather take the people of Northern Ireland
:05:28. > :05:32.through the uncertainty of yet another election, less than 12
:05:33. > :05:36.months after the last one, at a time when we are dealing with Brexit,
:05:37. > :05:41.needed to create more jobs and invest in our health and education
:05:42. > :05:45.system, Northern Ireland needs stability but because of Sinn Fein's
:05:46. > :05:51.selfish actions we now have instability and I very much regret
:05:52. > :05:54.that. Of course if we have to fight an election we will do it in the
:05:55. > :05:55.best interests of Northern Ireland but it will not solve any of the
:05:56. > :05:58.problems that currently face us. Our political editor Mark Devenport
:05:59. > :06:00.joins me now from Stormont. Martin McGuinness and his health -
:06:01. > :06:10.what do know how he is? He didn't need to be a doctor to
:06:11. > :06:13.tell that there was something seriously wrong with Martin
:06:14. > :06:20.McGuinness, he was weaker when he appeared here on December 19 but he
:06:21. > :06:25.was much weaker today. Sinn Fein hasn't disclosed any details of his
:06:26. > :06:29.condition but the night, that he has reported that the former Deputy
:06:30. > :06:36.First Minister is suffering from a rare heart condition. He said that
:06:37. > :06:40.health hasn't been a factor in this crisis but certainly some other
:06:41. > :06:43.Republicans say that some of the recent comments from Arlene Foster
:06:44. > :06:47.in which she talked about other Sinn Fein politicians jockeying for
:06:48. > :06:51.position behind Martin McGuinness's back while he was dealing with this
:06:52. > :06:54.health problem, according to some Republicans they had gone down like
:06:55. > :07:00.a lead balloon. Perhaps to that extent they have backed them into
:07:01. > :07:03.their thinking. Not Arlene Foster responded saying that Northern
:07:04. > :07:12.Ireland does not need an election but solutions. What do you make of
:07:13. > :07:16.that? Clearly she's preparing our grassroots for an election, she's
:07:17. > :07:18.pointing out that widening this out into other issues which Martin
:07:19. > :07:21.McGuinness did, including the treatment of the Irish language,
:07:22. > :07:27.this isn't just about the renewable heating scandal, and there is little
:07:28. > :07:31.giving what Arlene Foster has to say, it is hard on the basis of what
:07:32. > :07:36.the leaders have said today to see them avoiding an election. If there
:07:37. > :07:43.is an election, what happens to the heating scheme and its continuing
:07:44. > :07:51.pay-outs? We don't have any kind of a Rizla 's into that, we have no
:07:52. > :07:56.compromise into the attempts that have been made to try and cut the
:07:57. > :07:59.losses, and no progress on the form of any kind of independent
:08:00. > :08:02.investigation into that, that will all be put into abeyance while the
:08:03. > :08:04.politicians go about fighting this election.
:08:05. > :08:07.Earlier this evening at Stormont BBC Newsline's Tara Mills got further
:08:08. > :08:13.reaction from the DUP and Sinn Fein about Mr McGuinness's resignation.
:08:14. > :08:20.Let's be clear, this is not about RHI, then now can't be an enquiry
:08:21. > :08:24.because of Sinn Fein, we can't recover the money is and that the
:08:25. > :08:27.proposals in with a ready to do so because of Sinn Fein, and they have
:08:28. > :08:33.called an election because this is about removing Arlene Foster as the
:08:34. > :08:39.leader of the unions is and weakening unions to pursue a
:08:40. > :08:42.Republican agenda. Did you take their support for granted? We
:08:43. > :08:45.recognise that the electorate are the people who return individuals to
:08:46. > :08:49.office, we do business with people on that basis, we're not friends
:08:50. > :08:54.with Sinn Fein and don't stick to beat, but we do business with them
:08:55. > :08:57.because that is to the electorate decides to return, but the public
:08:58. > :09:01.will suffer as a result of this decision, because we can't have a
:09:02. > :09:05.budget and the finance minister knows that more than anybody else.
:09:06. > :09:12.The voluntary and community sector will be putting people on notice. I
:09:13. > :09:16.can't bring in a regression to stop the bedroom tax being introduced so
:09:17. > :09:20.if Sinn Fein have to be held into account... You could have appointed
:09:21. > :09:22.all of this by Arlene Foster stepping aside for four weeks
:09:23. > :09:29.Cazorla does that not look like a better option? She was being called
:09:30. > :09:35.to account through a Sinn Fein, Republican agenda, not on the basis
:09:36. > :09:38.of evidence, there is due process to be followed. We said we wanted the
:09:39. > :09:43.enquiry, we said we would have a public enquiry, Sinn Fein didn't
:09:44. > :09:46.want that. We wanted to have proposals that would have dealt with
:09:47. > :09:49.these costs, instead they want to go to the country because there is
:09:50. > :09:53.internal issues within republicanism, that is clear from
:09:54. > :09:57.the interview Martin McGuinness has given around who will replace him,
:09:58. > :10:00.and avoided narrative around the Irish language act, all of these
:10:01. > :10:04.things Sinn Fein don't like but they are better to work with us, instead
:10:05. > :10:09.they have brought the magicians down. Have they come back as a
:10:10. > :10:15.result of the electorate is the result. What were doing is recording
:10:16. > :10:23.time on corruption and on arrogance, corruption as evidenced by RHI, and
:10:24. > :10:27.they can be no investigation into that until Arlene Foster agrees to
:10:28. > :10:33.step aside, she has scuppered the investigation, no hiding place, but
:10:34. > :10:39.also breathtaking arrogance, disrespect for the national
:10:40. > :10:42.tradition, as evidenced by the decision at the mouth of Christmas
:10:43. > :10:46.that Paul could would take ?50,000 from children who want to learn the
:10:47. > :10:51.Irish language. You talk about the straw that broke the camel 's back,
:10:52. > :10:55.RHI and the way the DUP have created that mess and refused to show any
:10:56. > :11:01.humility or allow us to have the investigation, let us put right that
:11:02. > :11:05.mess, but also turned sectarianism. Paul is talking about the type of
:11:06. > :11:11.government he wants, we are concerned about those who want...
:11:12. > :11:15.Taken the granted? A government which doesn't have zero tolerance of
:11:16. > :11:19.corruption and sectarianism is no government at all, said that the
:11:20. > :11:24.public for granted? They bite off more than they could chew, but not
:11:25. > :11:30.listen to be warnings? Absolutely. The DUP were told again and again,
:11:31. > :11:36.act with respect. They refused that and now facing an action. I am
:11:37. > :11:39.saying to people clear, there will be no return to the status quo, we
:11:40. > :11:43.will not go back to any government which the Ritz in any way,
:11:44. > :11:48.corruption or sectarianism, that is what has been allowed to happen in
:11:49. > :11:59.the last few weeks with RHI. We have called time on that. We have had ten
:12:00. > :12:05.years now the DUP and Sinn Fein at the heart of our government, ten
:12:06. > :12:07.years characterised by disappointments, debacles and
:12:08. > :12:13.scandals. I don't think the electorate need any more proof of
:12:14. > :12:16.the fact that the DUP and Sinn Fein are incapable of governing this
:12:17. > :12:21.country are they cannot see the concept of the greater good. If
:12:22. > :12:25.people want an election, let's have it, because people need to hear that
:12:26. > :12:31.we still have no programme for government, no budget, costs are
:12:32. > :12:34.spiralling out of control because of the RHI scandal. We also know won't
:12:35. > :12:39.have a public enquiry into all of this. The public are sick to be back
:12:40. > :12:44.teeth of these crises at Stormont. They want to see good governance,
:12:45. > :12:46.people who are as keen to take responsible of these crises at
:12:47. > :12:48.Stormont. They want to see good governance, people who are as keen
:12:49. > :12:51.to take responsibly the as they are to take power. There is no point in
:12:52. > :12:58.trying to kill you back together the fragments of failure. -- glued back
:12:59. > :13:03.together. It's time to move on. If we want devolution, it can and
:13:04. > :13:09.should only be on the basis capable of surviving. I do not believe an
:13:10. > :13:14.election is what the people of Northern Ireland want, I believe
:13:15. > :13:19.stability is what was promised, I believe good governance is what
:13:20. > :13:20.should be delivered. Today can only be a bad
:13:21. > :13:26.It is the job of the Secretary of State James Brokenshire
:13:27. > :13:30.He said the UK government will do all it can to help
:13:31. > :13:42.The position is very clear. If Sinn Fein does not nominate a replacement
:13:43. > :13:48.to the role of Deputy First Minister, and I am obliged to call
:13:49. > :13:55.an election of the assembly, within a reasonable period. I would urge
:13:56. > :14:01.the political parties, the leaders of the political parties, to come
:14:02. > :14:06.together, to work together, to find a solution to the current position,
:14:07. > :14:08.and we will be doing all we can with the political parties and the Irish
:14:09. > :14:12.government, to that end. We've been asking some
:14:13. > :14:14.people on the streets of Belfast what they think
:14:15. > :14:25.about Martin McGuinness's I think that's very sad, but I think
:14:26. > :14:28.it will probably have a big impact for Arlene Foster and the rest of
:14:29. > :14:35.the country. It's another election, isn't it? Will it make any
:14:36. > :14:41.difference to the assembly? Not really. It's tribal here. Who knows
:14:42. > :14:46.what could happen next but it's interesting that something is
:14:47. > :14:50.moving. I would be disappointed, I don't think an election will make
:14:51. > :14:57.any difference. But people have to cast their vote. Be good to see what
:14:58. > :15:01.comes out of it. We need change, but I didn't know that about Martin
:15:02. > :15:08.McGuinness. Do you think it should have come to this? I am sorry did.
:15:09. > :15:12.The last thing we need now is an election, it will make things even
:15:13. > :15:13.more divisive, rather than people coming together and sort out all the
:15:14. > :15:16.problems we are trying to deal with. Mr McGuinness's decision to resign
:15:17. > :15:18.comes almost ten years BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson
:15:19. > :15:31.looks back at his journey He has been Stormont's longest
:15:32. > :15:36.serving minister, stretching back to the early days of power-sharing. I
:15:37. > :15:42.nominate Martin McGuinness as Minister for education. An even
:15:43. > :15:45.bigger surprise was to come. He became typically First Minister and
:15:46. > :15:52.got on remarkably well with Ian Paisley. We have been described as
:15:53. > :15:57.the two brothers people who thought... It turned against them in
:15:58. > :16:03.the end, we can tackle our way through 2008! When Peter Robinson
:16:04. > :16:07.took over as First Minister, relations became strained, very
:16:08. > :16:11.strained. But they somehow manage to work through it. We have
:16:12. > :16:15.disagreements, there has never been an occasion when we have refused to
:16:16. > :16:21.speak to one another, so we have the ability to sit down and work out our
:16:22. > :16:23.problems. When Arlene Foster became First Minister, initially they
:16:24. > :16:26.worked well together and have the time of last year's election, Martin
:16:27. > :16:33.McGuinness said he was looking forward to making the new executive
:16:34. > :16:37.work. I have all my faculties, great support from my family and my party
:16:38. > :16:42.is adamant that I continue with the work I'm doing. The IRA tried to
:16:43. > :16:48.kill Arlene Foster's father. But this meant that working with Sinn
:16:49. > :16:52.Fein was never easy. But said she was prepared to do it for the
:16:53. > :16:59.greater good. I want to focus on the future and not the past. One of the
:17:00. > :17:03.first picture little does -- challenges was the Brexit vote. It
:17:04. > :17:13.made things difficult but not a crisis. It will be a very historic
:17:14. > :17:18.negotiation. Now a different negotiation is on the cards. On the
:17:19. > :17:21.table will be RHI, social issues, the Irish language, dealing with the
:17:22. > :17:26.past and all the other issues which have told the DUP and Sinn Fein
:17:27. > :17:29.apart in recent months. Martin McGuinness has stepped down and as
:17:30. > :17:32.things stand, there is no guarantee he will be back.
:17:33. > :17:45.How inevitable is an assembly election? Tonight looking pretty
:17:46. > :17:49.much on the cards. In the old days when Tony Blair was Prime Minister,
:17:50. > :17:53.his secretaries of State used the power of suspension to move in and
:17:54. > :17:59.take direct power over from Stormont to avoid things like elections and
:18:00. > :18:05.complete breakdowns, but as part of the deal that was done in 2006, that
:18:06. > :18:12.power was taken off the statute book so whilst James Perlich acai is
:18:13. > :18:18.saying he wants to avoid an election, you have to say that the
:18:19. > :18:21.night all the mood music is saying that there is no obvious, Mies
:18:22. > :18:27.insight and that we are heading towards that election being called
:18:28. > :18:34.something over a week. An assembly will look different come what may.
:18:35. > :18:39.Yes, we're going to lose one MLA per constituency so we were becoming
:18:40. > :18:45.down from 108 assembly members to 19. To that extent, all the parties
:18:46. > :18:51.here might be losers, the question will be whether the balance between
:18:52. > :18:55.them will change -- down to 90. Particularly in light of the
:18:56. > :18:59.public's discussed about the renewable heat scandal.
:19:00. > :19:02.Other news now and the father of a County Tyrone student knocked
:19:03. > :19:05.down and killed by a drunk driver says the increase to his jail
:19:06. > :19:11.Eighteen year old Enda Dolan died in south Belfast two years ago.
:19:12. > :19:14.The driver who killed him will now serve an extra year in prison.
:19:15. > :19:28.Enda Dolan was a talented teenager who are just studied architecture,
:19:29. > :19:32.not down and killed by a drunk driver on the 15th of October 2014
:19:33. > :19:37.as he returned to his halls of residence. They beat Lee Stewart of
:19:38. > :19:43.Belfast was sentenced to three and a half years in jail with another
:19:44. > :19:45.three and a half on licence. The sentence was referred to the Court
:19:46. > :19:49.of Appeal on the basis of being unduly lenient. The court was
:19:50. > :19:57.reminded that Stewart had contained six pints of beer, four cocktails
:19:58. > :20:00.and other drinks. It'd been suggested he had taken drugs as
:20:01. > :20:09.well. The Court of Appeal decided increases the sentence. Increasingly
:20:10. > :20:12.turn to for the half years, the Lord Chief Justice said nothing this
:20:13. > :20:17.court can they could turn the clock back. What had happened was
:20:18. > :20:21.needless, senseless and avoidable. Siddikur Morgan said in cases of
:20:22. > :20:26.this kind, deterrent sentences must be imposed. Wobble can be increased,
:20:27. > :20:31.the purpose macrophylla said it should have been more.
:20:32. > :20:41.In my opinion, it's not enough given the crime he committed. It's still a
:20:42. > :20:45.disgrace, I think the justice system needs to be looked at, the
:20:46. > :20:49.legislation and relation to drinking and driving needs to be looked at.
:20:50. > :20:54.He says the death of his son is something his entire family has to
:20:55. > :20:58.live with every day. Christmas was difficult, there was an empty seat
:20:59. > :21:03.at the table, a lot of tears around Christmas, but unfortunately that's
:21:04. > :21:07.the way it is, you miss other family celebrations such as birthdays and
:21:08. > :21:12.other times of the year you have other family gatherings and he's not
:21:13. > :21:14.there. The Dolan family say they continue their campaign to have
:21:15. > :21:18.sentences for drunk who kill increased.
:21:19. > :21:21.A solicitor for a 22 year old man accused of procuring drugs intended
:21:22. > :21:24.to cause an abortion has protested about delays in dealing
:21:25. > :21:29.His co-defendant, a 21 year old woman is charged with taking two
:21:30. > :21:31.drugs which are commonly used to bring about a
:21:32. > :21:38.The case was adjourned until later this month.
:21:39. > :21:41.It's to get a lot colder later this week - here's Cecilia with more
:21:42. > :21:53.It's been chilly enough today, and it will get colder, some very cold
:21:54. > :22:01.air start to arrive during the course of Wednesday. It'll get very
:22:02. > :22:05.windy, with gale force winds on Thursday, making it feel bitterly
:22:06. > :22:14.cold and many places will see snow showers, particularly on Thursday.
:22:15. > :22:21.Particularly in the north and west. A warning is issued for strong winds
:22:22. > :22:29.and some lying snow on Wednesday. Possibly some disruption to power
:22:30. > :22:32.supplies. The showers will use after night, temperatures dropping, maybe
:22:33. > :22:39.one or two spots of ice but generally frost and ice free. Some
:22:40. > :22:46.milder air coming in for tomorrow, but colder again on Wednesday. Some
:22:47. > :22:54.light rain and drizzle Tamara, affecting down south as well,
:22:55. > :22:57.drifting eastwards. Trying up again across the Republic of Ireland and
:22:58. > :23:07.Northern Ireland for tomorrow afternoon. On Wednesday, it starts
:23:08. > :23:14.to get colder again, very windy, too. Showers will become very wintry
:23:15. > :23:15.with snow in places on Wednesday night and further snow showers on
:23:16. > :23:18.Thursday.