Wrapping up her statement to the house, Arlene Foster says her priority is not "headline-grabbing" that she accuses other parties of engahing in.

She adds that she does not take her responsibilities as Northern Ireland's first minister "lightly", adding that the "record shows I have always put Northern Ireland first".

"That is why," she adds, rather than whipping up a media storm, I have actually been dealing with the problem."

"That's what responsible politicians do - that's what government is about."

Arlene Foster says she supports the need for an "independent investigation, free from partisan political interference" into the RHI scheme.

The first minister adds that she has been "working to reach agreement" with officials on the details on such a probe.

On attempts to mitigate the cost of the scheme - projected to be in the region of £400m - she says Economy Minister Simon Hamilton will bring plans to the assembly in the new year, but the details are "still subject to considerable further work".

They will ensure that "our process resolves completely the widespread abuse of the scheme", she adds.

Now Arlene Foster comes to Jonathan Bell's explosive allegations, sayign she wants to "put on record the factual position".

She says documents that Economy Minister Simon Hamilton will publish today show that Mr Bell received information on the need for cost controls in July 2015, but he chose not to act on them until 3 September, with the measures eventually coming into force in November.

Mr Bell also claimed that DUP advisers intervened to keep the scheme open without the cost controls, but Mrs Foster tells the assembly that "whatever representations" were made by anyone they were "not being done with the authority of the party".

"It is clear that whatever the belief, the DUP did not ask the Deti minister to extend the scheme".

Moving on to the decision to close the RHI scheme, Arlene Foster says Jonathan Bell signed off on a March 2016 closure of the scheme in 22 January this year.

His decision was taken after major concerns were raised about the scheme's mounting overspend.

Image source, Thinkstock

The first minister says she was "deeply concerned" about the proposed mid-March closure due to the "growing financial pressures", and a new closure date of 15 February was agreed.

She says it was kept open for two weeks after concerns were raised that there could be legal challenges from people who had installed boilers but had not yet applied to the scheme.

The extension of the amended scheme, she adds, was "an entirely proper and proportionate step to take in all the circumstances", and it was closed "earlier than initially approved" by Mr Bell.

Contrary to Jonathan Bell's (below) claims last week, Arlene Foster says she "had no role whatsoever" the scheme whenever after she moved from the Department of Enterprise to the Department of Finance. in May 2015.

"Let there be no doubt, the decision in relation to the amendment of the RHI scheme was a matter for the Deti minister [Jonathan Bell]," she adds.

She points out that the only other minister who would've had authority would've been then first minister Peter Robinson, who she says has "made it clear" that the RHI scheme's problems "were never brought to him".

She adds that DUP officers "took no interest or role" over RHI, and adds that there is no evidence that Mr Bell raised concerns with Mr Robinson that he was being "pressurised" to keep the RHI scheme open in autumn 2015.

On the "concerned citizen" who raised issues regarding the scheme's flaw with Mrs Foster, the first minister says she deserves "our high respect" for trying to "prevent the calamity that we have fallen into".

Mrs Foster says that had the whistleblower been listened to, the crisis would've been avoided.

Image source, Thinkstock

The first minister denies that her prioritising of introducing the domestic RHI scheme ahead of adding cost controls to the botched non-domestic initiative is a "smoking gun".

She says she "did not receive any indication" or any "warning signs" that cost control of the non-domestic scheme was an "urgent priority" at that time.

And she points out again that there was an underspend in the scheme during her time as the enterprise minister.

Mark Devenport
BBC News NI Political Editor

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI

Vincent Kearney
BBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent

Mark Simpson
BBC News NI

Mrs Foster says she did "not impose this scheme on the people of Northern Ireland".

She says that no-one in government or in the assembly in their work scrutinising the legislation to pass the scheme picked up on crucial failings in relation to the overgenerous tariff offered by the scheme.

She adds that it was not picked up by the industry either.

Arlene Foster rises now to give her statement, and concedes that not introducing crucial cost-control measures in the RHI scheme during her time as Deti minister is the "deepest political regret of my time in this house".

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Alliance Party MLA Stewart Dickson says the assembly's standing orders have been "stretched to their limit" in what's gone on in the chamber this morning.

Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt says the events so far have been "a disaster for the integrity and the reputation for this house".

He calls for another short adjournment to allow the party whips to find a way a solution to the situation.

Stephen Walker
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

Vincent Kearney
BBC News NI Home Affairs Correspondent

People Before Profit MLA Eamonn McCann demands that an election is called "as quickly as it can be arranged", given that 

"It is perfectly that [this house] is not operating as intended," he says.

"Procedurally, it seems to me we are now in la-la-land limbo-land."

"Please can we stop this charade?"