Are we headed for a Brexit trade war after the DUP mess?

Northern Ireland’s unionist leaders have lit the fuse on the UK government’s threat to trigger Article 16. Adam Forrest takes a look at what happens next

(Getty)

Understanding the politics of Northern Ireland is not easy. The Democratic Unionist Party’s weird manoeuvres and internal machinations can make Tory party plots look as tame as a Sunday-school picnic.

The DUP staged a strange piece of political theatre this week by announcing that the party’s agriculture minister, Edwin Poots, would halt checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

Simultaneously, DUP first minister Paul Givan quit in protest at the UK government’s failure to bring the legal checks agreed with the EU to an end.