The Northern Ireland Executive has been plunged back into uncertainty following the resignation last night of DUP leader Edwin Poots.

Mr Poots decision came just three weeks after he took up the role, making him the shortest-serving leader in DUP history.

It followed a dramatic 24 hours in which he moved to reconstitute the Northern Ireland Executive despite opposition from a majority of his parliamentary party.

DUP MLAs and MPs had urged him to refuse to nominate a new First Minister in protest at the British Government’s pledge to introduce an Irish Language Act in the North if Stormont failed to do so.

The future of Northern Ireland First Minister Paul Givan now hangs in the balance less than 24 hours after he was nominated to the role by Mr Poots.

Should he resign or find himself replaced, the DUP will face fresh talks with Sinn Féin to get the Executive back up and running. Should those talks fail, Northern Ireland could face a snap election with unionism increasingly divided over the economic impact of Brexit and opposition to the Northern Ireland protocol.

In a statement last night, Mr Poots said he will remain in his post, “until my successor is elected.”

"This has been a difficult period for the party and the country and I have conveyed to the chairman my determination to do everything I can to ensure both unionism and Northern Ireland is able to move forward to a stronger place."

In a statement last night, Sinn Féin noted that “whoever leads the DUP is a matter for that party” and noted that the North is facing monumental challenges ahead that require unity of purpose and urgency.

A spokesperson for the Irish Government in Dublin confirmed that todays meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council has been cancelled, "at the request of the Northern side."

The Irish Language Act announcement was viewed as a concession to Sinn Féin by many in the DUP, even though the act was promised as part of the St Andrew’s Agreement, which saw Sinn Féin recognising the PSNI and returning to power-sharing in 2007.

Sinn Féin had refused to return to the Executive without a firm commitment on the Irish language; however, the DUP had refused to offer firm timetable.

It is expected to see Irish used by public bodies, the courts, on street signs and in the Stormont Assembly.