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That's what we are, just journalistic pieces of debris lobbying around on the peaks and troughs of expectation from these talks.

After a night and a morning of optimism, the late afternoon feels more pessimistic. Sinn Fein's negotiators returned to the castle amidst rumours of a wobble amongst republicans over the proposed reforms on parading.

The DUP leader Peter Robinson came to the microphone with a sober message that he wouldn't sign off on any deal until he was satisfied it was right and that people here would be gutted if the process was brought down, but that he didn't believe collapse should be the outcome if there was no deal today.

The few are now predicting that the prime ministers will be en route any time soon and these negotiations could well go on into the night.

The Ulster Unionists haven't turned up at all today - their leader Sir Reg Empey was busy explaining his role in last months talks with the DUP at Orange Order headquarters to his huddled Tory partner Owen Patterson.

However senior Ulster Unionist sources say that even if there is a deal the party will not endorse it. Instead, they are expected to say that because they did not negotiate the agreement they will have to take it away and examine it before coming to a view.

Sinn Fein negotiators are closeted in a meeting to discuss the package being hammered out inside the castle. The republicans are describing it as a defining moment - now what exactly does that mean.

Halfway through this blog entry, I was scrambled to attend a Peter Robinson news conference but fortunately ran into his DUP colleagues en route who let me know he was just having a lunch break.

Since last night the tone has remained fairly positive - David Ford, the man most likely to be the future justice minister, seemed particularly chipper.

The enhanced security around the castle has fed speculation that the two prime ministers will arrive at some point during the day, but it seems likely that the prime ministers won't set off until they know any agreement is a done deal.

That's partly because they wouldn't want news they are on the way to influence the negotiations in an adverse manner, partly because it will be too much for anyone to bear to preside over two failures in a week.

Having surfed the wave of optimism which went around on Tuesday evening before Wednesday's breakdown I am reluctant to get out my body board again. However a few discussions I have been having tonight make me wonder whether the politicians may be edging towards a deal. On Hearts and Minds Alex Maskey described Sinn Fein's latest discussions with the DUP as frank courteous and professional, whilst a senior DUP figure told me it would be better for the reputation of politics here if the local parties could forge their own agreement rather than relying on the two prime ministers to do all the hard work.

Another Stormont source reckoned the DUP Assembly team is 90% for a deal, and thought a consultation on any proposals which might come out of Hillsborough could be kept to a fortnight.

I don't know whether this is all a reaction to the manifest public anger on the airwaves. But the governments believe that a genuine and serious effort is underway.

The other story of the evening was Stephen Dempster's revelations on Hearts and Minds about yet more secret DUP UUP talks - this time in early December and hosted by the Orange Order. If things were going badly republicans might have seized on the unionist manouvreing as a reason to junk the Hillsborough talks, but so far at any rate Sinn Fein appears fairly relaxed.

More spooked I would say are the Conservatives who were blind sided by their partners the Ulster Unionists. Owen Paterson need not have gone to all that trouble booking Hatfield House if he had been aware that Bobby Saulters was already doing the job of bringing unionists together. The Conservative sources I spoke to tonight expressed some concern and dismay and said they would be looking for an explanation from Sir Reg Empey who attended the talks alongside Peter Robinson.

It's Thursday and the politicians are back at Hillsborough in the negotiations. One talks insider just told me there seemed to be a constructive atmosphere about the place in contrast to yesterday's depression. At least the governments can take heart from the fact that the politicians are still there. But are they just going through the motions until Friday's deadline. Everything will depend on the relationship or lack of it between the DUP and Sinn Fein.

I confess I am only just setting off towards the talks - all that sleep deprivation finally caught up with me. It made me wonder what impact it had on Gordon Brown. Everyone is poring over a leaked e-mail from the Americans about the Afghan President Hamid Karzai not being trustworthy. Instead they should take a look at this leaked transcript from the Afghan summit to ascertain whether the Hillsborough experience took its toll on the PM.

"Karzai: At some point foreign forces will have to hand over to the Afgan National Army.

Brown: I was thinking of early March, with the full transfer at the start of May.

Karzai: That sounds a little soon, Prime Minister. And you know we will need long term economic assistance.

Brown: I have £800 million quid knocking about that someone else is not interested in taking off me, but I can't let you have it until Saturday.

Karzai: That is very prompt, Prime Minister, although I think our long term needs may require greater resourcing. And what about the Taliban?

Brown: Sort it out locally. And if not just let them follow their traditional route through the Khyber pass."

On the subject of parades, one aspect of the negotiations that has puzzled me is the mention of mediation as if it is a totally new concept. Visit the Parades Commission whose job is to promote local dialogue and compromise. But then they are linked to the Parades Commission so the Orange Order won't officially work with them even though some individual Orangemen do. But if they were attached to a new Conflict Resolution Abritration Panel then maybe they would be deemed acceptable. Or am I just talking acronyms?

I didn't hear the programme myself. but I've been told that a caller to Talkback took pity on me as the man with the most boring job in Northern Ireland having to listen to argumentative politicians the whole time.

Boring? I'm not so sure, but this occupation can undoubtedly be exhausting and pretty freezing when you are standing outside a castle in the early hours.

However, if the caller wishes to make good on his suggestion of a whip round to pay for a two week holiday in Florida, for me to recuperate, then the Devenport family bags are packed and ready to go.

So much for that wave of optimism around nine o'clock last night. Things started cooling off in the early hours of the morning and didn't get any warmer after that.

Around lunchtime, we got word that the prime ministers were preparing to leave without agreement, but had in mind a pathway to success which they would entrust to the stewardship of Shaun Woodward and Micheal Martin.

But hang on a moment, had Sinn Fein not demanded prime ministerial involvement on the grounds that mere ministers had not proved able to help the party overcome their remaining obstacles?

We were summoned into a room inside the castle not far from where Tony Blair once talked about the hand of history on his shoulder.

But this was not to be a repeat performance. There was a brief comic interlude when Gerry Adams in shirt sleeves walked in by accident, not realising the press had assembled there.

It was a little reminiscent of the moment when Cherie Blair went to open her front door the morning after becoming the wife of the prime minister.

I had to leave the castle because our lunchtime news was about to go on air, but as I walked I started getting texts from politicians telling me that another round table session was in progress.

However in contrast to last night's smiling pictures, they said the mood was bad and Sinn Fein were very upset.

Messrs Brown and Cowan revealed their May target date for the transfer or powers and assured reporters they could see a way forward.

If the parties won't agree, they are set to publish their proposals at the end of the week. But both PMs had to deal with a barrage of accusations they had presided over a dismal failure.

Not surprisingly, they didn't agree. Martin McGuinness then took the microphone to spell out his deep disappointment but refused to answer questions about whether he would resign as Deputy First Minister.

Peter Robinson told us the DUP wouldn't buy a pig in a poke or accept a second rate deal to meet someone elses deadline.

However you dress it up, it is going to be difficult for the governments to turn matters around.

If this is a pathway to success I'm not quite sure what a pathway to failure looks like.

The two main unionist parties may be committed to discussions on future unity, but they are currently camped out at separate pubs in Hillsborough. After a round-table session which one participant described as constructive, the Ulster Unionists headed across the road to get a meal at the Plough. A few moments later, the DUP negotiating team caused a minor sensation by walking out. But it was not a political move - they were heading off to grab something to eat at the Hillside on the other side of the road.

A good-humoured Peter Robinson told reporters they would be here for a while yet, but refused to go into any more detail. Mr Robinson also seemed in good form when the cameras captured the opening moments of the round-table session. In contrast to last month's angry exchanges at Limavady, Mr Robinson and Martin McGuinness joked about football - the deputy first minister reminding the prime minister that the DUP leader supports two teams, Chelsea and Spurs, and Mr Robinson retorting that you have to cover all your options.

Tonight, given the apparently positive mood music, some talks insiders are predicting that a deal is only a matter of time. However, no agreement can be taken as a foregone conclusion until all the key players have signed up to it.

We've just come off air from the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Newsline 6.30 during which I spelled out some of the bare bones of the package under discussion. It's believed it will involve an early May date for the transfer of powers and new structures for dealing with parades.

Some of the politicians were shown the documents referring to an adjudication panel, but there were few details on how this might work. It's thought, however, there will be an increased emphasis on the local mediation of marching disputes.

One of our interviewees, Sinn Fein's Conor Murphy, was resplendent in a smart dark coat. But he disclosed that if you looked closely, many of his colleagues appearing on TV today cut a strikingly similar figure - the reason being that the garment in question belongs to a party adviser and was being passed around as a single transferable coat.

I'm not one to scoff as I have been wearing my scarf outside my mac all day. The reason - in my eagerness to note down what one or other of the politicians was saying this morning, I managed to write all over my coat.

I've just been wandering around the village trying to remind myself that there is a world beyond bilateral and plenary sessions. A granddad who I bumped into pointed to the toddler he was out walking and expressed the view that he hoped that the children wouldn't have to face what his generation had during the Troubles.

For others, the drama at the castle doesn't appear to have impinged too much on their lives.

Rumours abound about a paper which could include a date for transfer of justice powers in early May prior to a general election and a process for dealing with parades. That might involve a cross between the current commission and some of the ideas contained in the Ashdown review on parading.

Any suggestions for what a new body should be called? I am not convinced that marching quango has the necessary ring to it.

Although the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP have been called back to Hillsborough for an all party session it's still not clear how far apart the DUP and Sinn Fein are on any possible compromise. But we do have some evidence that the world is looking on with confirmation that Hilary Clinton has been on the phone to Gordon Brown agreeing that the governments must press forward towards a deal.

PS - Although these are supposed to be hot house talks one participant complained to me that the rooms inside Hillsborough Castle are freezing cold. He quipped to colleagues:

"Last night the prime ministers deprived us of sleep, today they deprive us of heat. What next, waterboarding?"

So we're back outsides the gates of Hillsborough Castle - it all seems such a throwback to the days of Blair and Ahern.

Can Gordon and Brian follow in the footsteps of the great persuaders?

After leaving at three in the morning, the parties returned here at around ten o'clock.

Peter Robinson has just been out to speak to us, portraying an image of sweet reasonableness. He stressed the need for progress to be made on parades hand in hand or with any move forward on policing.

Questioned about some of his colleagues invective (last night Sammy Wilson accused Sinn Fein of throwing a hissy fit) the DUP leader said that you could hear far worse at Westminster. He added that the politicians had hard skins and tough stomachs and were prepared to roll up their sleeves and get on with the job.

Intriguingly, he claimed that his party feared no date for the transfer of justice powers but made it clear that any date would be subject to satisfying his conditions.

The Ulster Unionists have complained that whilst they were in the building last night they have not been included in any real negotiations. Ulster Unionist sources are blaming Sinn Fein for seeking to keep the cast list and the agenda narrow.

The DUP say the other parties were brought in at their insistence and any deal should involve as wide a range of support as possible.

The DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson has been breathing more life into the notion of a pan- unionist pact today, writing in the Newsletter that unionist unity offers an "enormous prize".

Whilst some within the Ulster Unionists (for example the South Belfast branch) have made no secret of their support for local pacts, other sources have suggested to me that, meeting at the weekend, many Ulster Unionist executive members were cool about the notion of re-creating the unionist monolith.

Meanwhile the Conservatives look like the ones licking their wounds. Three of their nominees, including two Catholics Peter McCann and Sheila Davidson, are withdrawing their names as potential candidates. According to the Observer, this was because the secret DUP-UUP-Conservative talks organised by the Tory spokesman made some of them "want to vomit" as they viewed it as the "triumph of tribalism over inclusive, secular politics".

Others challenge this account, claiming that some of the nominees has threatened to resign a fortnight ago, before the secret talks were exposed. The allegation is that the potential candidates' main concern was frustration at the failure of the Conservative and Unionist alliance to get its act together.

Whatever the motivation, the latest developments are bad news for David Cameron's experiment in dipping his toe in electoral politics here. The secret talks have prompted angry criticism from the SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell who described them as "a very negative intervention" at a crucial time.

As the Ulster Unionist communications director points out in the Newsletter, Dr McDonnell has a dog in this fight. If a single unionist candidate fought South Belfast, it would be hard for the SDLP MP to hold on to his seat. However he is not alone in his criticism - at the weekend the Alliance leader David Ford told me on Inside Politics that if David Cameron becomes Prime Minister he could not hope to be a neutral peace broker given his party's approach to the two main unionist parties. And if the notion that Mr Cameron isn't savvy enough to handle the complexities of Northern Ireland takes hold across in the London media, the Tory leader could come to regret his foray into politics here.

Mr Cameron may discount that if the prize is ten or twelve votes within a future hung parliament. But of course a lot of the talk about pacts and re-alignments remains hypothetical. The Conservatives insist that Mr Cameron has full confidence in his spokesman Owen Paterson and that they still intend to contest all 18 seats.

But even if this talk goes no further who is the winner as things stand? I suggest it is none other than the DUP leader Peter Robinson. Wind back a fortnight or so and in the wake of the Spotlight programme the DUP appeared to be in a tight spot. The Conservative and Unionist alliance could now start eyeing up seats like Strangford (where they may very well end up running the former TV presenter Mike Nesbitt) which they could not have hoped to win previously. The maths in other targets seats, such as East Belfast, South Antrim, Upper Bann and Lagan Valley, also potentially to be in flux.

Now though the non-sectarian Conservative and Unionist brand has been damaged. Voters may well wonder whether there's any difference between the DUP and the UUP if they are considering forming one block at Stormont. Sinn Fein, despite expressions to the contrary, have to be concerned about how unionist realignment might change the balance at Stormont. And more to the point the focus switches away from the Spotlight allegations.

You have to hand it to Peter Robinson. Even when he is a tight corner, the DUP leader remains a master tactician.

Could Jonathan Bell become our shortest serving MLA? The Ards councillor has just been declared as the DUP replacement for Iris Robinson. But at the same time as the Chief Electoral Officer Douglas Bain published his official confirmation of Mr Bell's appointment, the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams posted an entry on his confirming that so far as republicans are concerned the current phase of negotiations is over.

Mr Adams didn't miss and hit the wall accusing the DUP of ham acting when they complained they were sitting around for talks yesterday (he says he told them the night before the negotiations were over) and of telling a fib when they declared they didn't want to negotiate on a Sunday, but in fact jetted off to London to have secret talks with the Tories.

All of which makes it hard to imagine the talks teams returning to their work in a jovial cooperative mood anytime soon. And on the crunch issue of parades, Mr Adams claims the DUP is playing the orange card adding "sorry folks - it doesn't work that way anymore".

P.S. I've just noticed that Gerry A changed the title of his entry after posting it. To start with it was called "The Game Is Up, But It's Not Over" but then it changed to "There Are No Preconditions". Is this politically significant. If not, why switch to a less catchy title?

P.P.S I am just back from interviewing Peter Robinson and Sir Reg Empey. The DUP leader was exuding an impression of being calm in the face of the Sinn Fein President's blog. Although he told me it would be better for the local parties to sort matters out themselves, I got the impression that he is preparing for governmental intervention.

When questioned about the prospect of Sinn Fein becoming Stormont's largest party, neither unionist leader would rule out their respective parties merging into one bloc. Although the Conservatives claimed there was no discussion of a hung Westminster parliament during the secret talks in England last Sunday, senior DUP sources are talking up the significance a single unionist force could have for the parliamentary arithmetic at Westminster. They are pointing out that 12 pro-Conservative seats equals 24 in a balanced parliament...of course that presumes both North Down and Fermanagh South Tyrone could be counted in such a bloc which is a big assumption. Nevertheless it gives a sense of the kind of calculations now being made.

When Mary Lou McDonald emerged into the rain outside Connolly House in West Belfast to announce that Sinn Fein would press ahead with its Ard Comhairle this weekend, thereby potentially signalling the beginning of the end of the current justice talks, she was quizzed if she would be speaking on her own. The former MEP replied in French "une femme toute seule".

Then when my colleague Stephen Walker caught up with the Acting First Minister Arlene Foster she too talked about being on her own. But this time the complaint was directed at those Sinn Fein negotiators who hadn't turned up to meet the DUP for any discussions.

On Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Newsline I made a quip about the DUP taking their turn as "themselves alone", but I had neither the time nor the linguistic ability to translate the reference into French.

In a short profile piece on the Q.C. called in to provide advice to the Departmental Solicitor's Office on the Spotlight allegations regarding Peter Robinson, the Belfast Telegraph writes that Paul Maguire is "quiet and unassuming" adding that "very few people know anything about the life of Paul Maguire and those who do are not talking."

If they had phoned me I could have told them that although I haven't bumped into Paul for ages I can confirm on the record that

1. He is a thoroughly decent bloke

2. In the days when we both had the energy to chase a football around a five a side pitch, he was a nifty playmaker

The Q.C. will no doubt have his work cut out with the Spotlight case. But that's not the only brush he is likely to have with the "folks on the hill". I am told he is also acting for the Health Minister Michael McGimpsey in a judicial review brought by the family of , the toddler whose family believe should have been provided with better care for his severe epilepsy.

And who used to be one of the most vociferous supporters of the Caldwells at Stormont? None other than the former Strangford MLA Iris Robinson.

Over the weekend the Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey told us about a telephone conversation he had on Friday with Hillary Clinton. When the US Secretary of State pressed him to go the extra mile on devolving justice he replied that she was the only person who had rung him on the matter that day. She was apparently slightly taken aback - his point being that, as he has complained for the last few weeks, that his party had been excluded from the justice talks.

But maybe the UUP haven't been quite as excluded as they have been leading us all to believe, as it seems Danny Kennedy and Tom Elliot were in England on Sunday for a chat with Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds, facilitated by the Conservative NI spokesman Owen Paterson.

The Tories say this was all about promoting political stability and bringing the unionists together on the thorny question of justice. All entirely suitable stuff for a party which might inherit the Stormont impasse in a few months time to be working on.

They deny that the meeting covered hung parliaments or electoral pacts. But one participant did confirm to me that unionist unity as a long term goal did feature in the discussions, and the presence of Tom Elliot, given his Fermanagh base, raised a few eyebrows.

Certainly if this meeting is part of a unionist power play to warn Sinn Fein that they can't count on being the biggest party at Stormont then the participants will have to get cracking in the immediate term rather than just talking about long term aspirations.

If it isn't, then the Conservatives and Unionists will have to get cracking to try to re-establish their supposed brand identity regarding normal non-sectarian politics. This doesn't sit easily alongside any attempts to re-establish a united unionist monolith.

All the while the clock is ticking at Stormont - after yesterday's rumours of Sinn Fein ultimatums, today's Belfast Telegraph reckons the latest is for midnight tonight. Sinn Fein won't confirm this, but the timing would gel with the party's planned officer board meeting tomorrow. Government officials were undoubtedly burning the midnight oil last night as if they were working to a tight timetable.

P.S. Thanks to the reader who suggested the last entry should have been called "Tottering Tuesday".

You can't have a good negotiation here without a wobble. Remember John Taylor telling reporters not long before the Good Friday Agreement that he wouldn't touch the deal with a forty foot pole.

No-one came out with anything so definitive in the Great Hall today. But after optimism that the other party leaders were being briefed on a potential deal, came the realisation that the DUP and Sinn Fein were holding separate briefings, so not much unit there.

The other parties by and large obeyed instructions to stay tight lipped. Today was the first time I can recall when Stormont Live was entirely bereft of guests from the five main parties - the mantra was "whatever you say, say nothing".

But that didn't stop reports that the DUP and Sinn Fein had veered apart on the crucial issue of parades, or that the meetings had laid bare the poor relations between the First and Deputy First. It was rumoured that Sinn Fein had put down a midnight deadline for a deal, but tonight I'm told this might no longer be in play.

Republicans seem concerned that the DUP's insistence on the need to get other parties on side could just be another stalling tactic. They want a date for devolving justice and they want it now. Some say they would also like the two Prime Ministers to get involved.

The Secretary of State and the Irish Foreign Minister are expected to meet at Hillsborough later this evening. Martin McGuinness is due to meet both of them seperately. The question I cannot answer tonight (but would like to be able to) is exactly how long Sinn Fein will give these negotiations before their patience runs out.

P.S. For alliterative purposes it would of course been better if the wobble had been on a Wednesday. Any suggestions for alternative adjectives gratefully accepted.

To be honest if you'd asked me yesterday morning if a deal would be announced today I would have probably answered in the affimative. I couldn't see why the DUP should have called its Assembly team together on a Saturday without a fairly firm package to put to them.

That said, last night both my Sinn Fein and DUP sources told me not to expect any announcement today. And so it has transpired. More talks are scheduled this evening.

During First Minister's questions Arlene Foster pledged that the other Stormont parties would be involved in the discussions. Answering a question from her colleague Peter Weir about whether devolving justice is a unionist objective, Mrs Foster argued that concern over the control of security went back to the founding fathers of Northern Ireland. So yet another signal that the DUP are preparing their grassroots for a deal.

Mrs Foster said the other Stormont parties would be involved in the negotiations. Jim Allister is worried that the Ulster Unionists could still be used as a fig leaf for any deal, even though Lady Sylvia Hermon scotched the speculation about her potential nomination as a future Justice Minister.

Whilst the Sunday newspapers did not deliver the much rumoured about "damaging stories" concerning the DUP, they did pose problems for Sinn Fein, which is now firefighting a number of difficult questions about whether it has responded appropriately to cases of alleged child abuse within the republican community. Certainly the Liam Adams case, which Gerry Adams referred to on his own blog this weekend, appears to have set off a chain reaction.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere there has been much comment about whether the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú has been cautious over some of these stories for political reasons. All I can say is that there are serious legal concerns in relation to cases of this kind and these are the factors we have to bear in mind when deciding what we publish or broadcast.

A confession. Even in the height of this crisis I sneaked a day off yesterday. My excuse is that, since Inside Politics switched to its current time, Wednesday is now my Sunday. I must have a word with Nelson MCausland about forming a Wednesday Observance Society.

Out and about in the shops and elsewhere yesterday I found everybody wanted to talk to me about Iris. I told them the focus was now switching to a potentially historic deal on devolving justice - predictably they didn't appear at all interested.

To punish me for going AWL (absent with leave) my colleagues booked me on the redeye to London this morning. My mission - to cover Gordon Brown meeting Brian Cowen this lunchtime. We were ushered up the stairs past the pictures and photographs of previous prime ministers into an ornate Downing Street room for a joint press conference.

Then the two prime ministers appeared. In truth, I could have written their comments before I got on the BMI flight this morning - urging the Stormont parties on and refusing to contemplate failure.

Tying the latest negotiations into the recent dissident attack on a police officer in Randalstown, Brian Cowen said completing the devolution of justice was the best and most effective way to combat what he called 'the murderous few who want to wreck the process'.

Neither leader would talk about the Robinson scandal or the peculiar way in which it seems to have added momentum to the process. The Taoiseach said he didn't want to comment on private matters.

In this regard both men struck a completely diferent tone from the members of the general public so keen to talk to me on the streets of Belfast. Now it's back to Stormont where the real action is taking place.

That's how Gerry Adams described the state of play in his party's negotiations with the DUP about an hour ago. This follows Sammy Wilson talking about last night's meeting as productive.

Although the politicians insist they aren't going to give a running commentary on the discussions contrast Gerry Adams' remarks with a statement Sinn Fein released last week in which they insisted a round of talks inside Stormont Castle had made no progress whatsoever.

Alongside the Sinn Fein-DUP talks other local parties were brought to Stormont House where the Secretary of State Shaun Woodward presumably asked them to give any deal a fair wind. Sir Reg Empey told Mr Woodward that the Ulster Unionists would have to see the shape of a deal on policing and justice before committing to supporting it. And he has grave concerns that any agreement could appear that it has been negotiated by the DUP under duress.

Certainly the axe Sinn Fein has been holding over the DUP's neck, by threatening a snap election, just got a lot sharper as a result of the Robinson scandal. So will a collective DUP leadership (Mr Robinson has not been involved in the latest rounds of talks) be able to bring around their malcontents? And if there is a deal will anyone credit the Spotlight team for a breakthrough in the peace process? Somehow I doubt it.

On the topic of the DUP leadership, Sammy Wilson was just asked if Peter Robinson would lead the DUP into the next election. He answered that "Peter Robinson is still the leader of this party. And the leader of this party will lead this party into the next election." Mr Wilson is a Robinson friend and one of the first to come out in his support after the Spotlight programme. So maybe we should give him the benefit of the doubt. But re-read that sentence and it works logically no matter who the leader is whenever an election is called.

On the Daily Politics, Andrew Neil asked Arlene Foster about Mr Robinson and she paraphrased Gerry Adams, insisting "he hasn't gone away, you know". Mr Adams, of course, was talking about the Provisional IRA which might not have gone completely away. But it did stand down and disarm.

By the way watch Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Newsline 6.30 tonight for an amusing doorstep on Ian Paisley Junior at the launch of the North West 200. Safe to say, it's bad enough trying to find your coat off a rack, without doing it whilst trying to field questions about your party leader from a reporter.

So first a display of loyalty, then an ingenious wheeze. The DUP played a clever hand today changing its image by appointing the popular Arlene Foster as temporary First Minister. But as he left the room after making his departing statement, Peter Robinson stressed that he would be away for "up to six weeks", an emphasis which sounded a bit like Arnie's "I'll be back".

Tonight a fresh round of talks on devolving justice is taking place inside Parliament Buildings. There's a school of thought that this halfway house might actually make a deal more likely - at the very least a breakthrough would change the nature of the recent headlines. The DUP leader has promised a "concentrated focus" and expressed the hope that 2010 "is the year to deliver at Stormont for all the people of Northern Ireland."

Sinn Fein sources say they'll give the new DUP dispensation days, rather than weeks to show some sign of movement. If nothing happens we could be back to "deep trouble" well before the six week leave of absence period expires.

I've been so rushed off my feet in the last couple of days coping with the broadcast requirements consequent on last night's Spotlight programme that the poor old diary had to take a back seat.

Earlier today i contributed this to the main website.

During the day it's been very hard to get DUP members to talk off the record, as there has been a three line whip out against any unauthorised contact with the press. But one expressed continuing sympathy with the Robinsons' plight, another reckoned the leader was "toast" and a third senior figure said they had regrettably come to the conclusion that Peter Robinson's position was untenable.

Senior DUP figures met in a third floor room at Stormont this evening. Afterwards they issued a statement accepting Iris Robinson's decision to stand down from public life. Whatever they discussed in private, they didn't deal with their leader's position in public.

When I talked to him at DUP headquarters this afternoon, Mr Robinson said he had asked the Departmental Solicitors' Office to engage an independent barrister to examine the programme, ask whatever questions they wanted and determine if the First Minister had acted appropriately.

He mentioned no timescale for this process, other than indicating that he wanted it to be speedy. But tonight Gregory Campbell told Stephen Nolan on Radio Five Live that the "investigation" if that is how it should be described should take no more than a week.

During my interview I asked Mr Robinson whether him bringing in a barrister would be seen as a sufficient independent process, given that Martin McGuinness is seeking seperate legal advice of his own. The First Minister suggested that I was in danger of impugning the independence of the Departmental Solicitor's Office.

However I have just had a conversation with the TUV leader Jim Allister who pointed out that getting an opinion from a barrister does not amount to an independent investigation. Mr Allister, who is of course himself a Q.C., pointed out that any barrister's conclusions will depend on the premise of the questions put to them. In other words, the Q.C. is unlikely to be a gum shoe digging up new facts, in the mode of Spotlight's Darragh Macintyre.

I still can't call whether Peter Robinson will survive, but I am prepared to stick my neck out with one prediction - Jim Allister Q.C. is unlikely to be the barrister hired by the Departmental Solicitors Office to examine the Robinsons' business affairs.

It's been a long day. First the news about UDA decommissioning. Then a call from the DUP summonsing me at short notice to party headquarters. Joined by three colleagues from the Press Association, UTV and RTE, I then caught a lift up to Peter Robinson's home.

This house is where First Minister has been sequestered since his wife Iris admitted suffering serious bouts of depression and announced her withdrawal from political life.

We made our way into the First Minister's study, past a bench decorated with a cushion embroidered with a loving message to "Mum". We took our seats in the study which is decorated with pictures from Mr Robinson's political life - him with George Bush, him with Barack Obama - but also illustrations of the Robinson family life - a picture of a young radiant looking Iris, another of the couple standing together.

There was no sign of Iris in person. But we were presented with a two page statement from her which contained two bombshells - admissions of an affair and a suicide attempt.

After a few minutes studying these, the First Minister entered the room, looking drawn. He made a brief comment to say he hoped he would get through the statement he had prepared then the camera rolled. He did complete his statement, although his voice seemed to choke up on more than one occasion.

Mr Robinson sat in the corner of his leather sofa. Behind him, in shot, was another embroidered cushion carrying the message "Dad, no matter how I grow, I will always look up to you."

All four of us in the room have witnessed some fairly extraordinary political events. But it was difficult to sit there and to formulate a question without feeling you were intruding to some extent on an intensely private matter.

The others asked about his intention to stay on as First Minister and DUP leader and his ability to continue leading the community through difficult times. Aware that the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Spotlight team had put questions to the First Minister and his wife about specific matters, I asked if he and his wife had conducted themselves legally in respect of their financial and political dealings.

The First Minister told me he had done absolutely nothing wrong, and any allegations would be readily answered. Mr Robinson's written statement in fact made no reference to financial matters, but his wife's statement contained a line confirming that she had "encouraged friends to assist him" [the unnamed man with whom she admitted having an affair] "by providing financial support for a business venture".

Tonight the First Minister's emotional appearance appears to have provoked a sympathetic response amongst political colleagues. Before his extraordinary statement there had been rumours of leadership challenges and Nigel Dodds as an interim leader. but tonight Mr Dodds said that rank-and-file DUP members "have been deeply moved by Peter's statement today. He has demonstrated a level of bravery and courage that very few in public life possess. ...He is the undisputed leader of Unionism and we all offer our full and total support at this time". So that puts those rumours to bed for a while.

The First Minister says he will be back behind his desk in the morning meeting Martin McGuinness. The Deputy First Minister tonight said that "nobody watching this evening's interview by Peter could fail to be moved by obvious hurt and pain being experienced by the Robinson family. Despite Peter's public role he is entitled to privacy as he and his family seek to deal with this matter. I wish them well as they seek to rebuild relationships away from the public glare."

It's been a long day for me, but a longer one for the Robinsons.

I've just got my feet back under the desk, deleted all those Christmas e-mails and girded my loins for the new political year to come, only to find that we have precisely one week to save the world.

That's not according to Flash Gordon. Rather it's the verdict of David Ford, who this afternoon said "if there is not serious engagement between the parties this week I believe we will be in a full-blown crisis next week. This must not be allowed to happen."

Presumably the Alliance leader reckons the clock is ticking because of the Sinn Fein Ard Comhairle meeting due to take place in Dublin next Saturday. That meeting is expected to hear a report back on Sinn Fein's negotiations with the DUP over devolving justice. However republican sources are steering me away from the idea that they will make any definitive announcement on what kind of "deep trouble" we are now in. Instead it's likely they will call another special meeting to consider the impasse.

There are reports of contacts between the DUP and Sinn Fein in relation to the crucial parading issue, and Shaun Woodward is seeking engagement with either side. However if there is just a week we may be in difficulties - some of the key players are bound to spend much of tomorrow at Cardinal Daly's funeral, whilst Gordon Brown is more likely to concentrate on his Prime Ministerial Question Time on Wednesday than turning to any local difficulty here. So that leaves Thursday and Friday. If so we really are in Flash Gordon territory.

Predicting anything in this process is always a fraught occupation, but the Christmas break proved the truth of the old Harold Macmillan adage about "events, dear boy, events" being most likely to blow a politician off course. First we had the revelations about Gerry Adams' brother, Liam, and the subsequent criticism of the Sinn Fein' President's handling of the matter. Then Iris Robinson's shock announcement that she was retiring due to ill health.

I don't think the full ramifications of either of these developments are entirely clear. The sympathy generated when Mr Adams revealed that his own father had subjected family members to abuse then dissipated as questions were raised about when exactly Liam had been "dumped" out of Sinn Fein in Dundalk.

Gerry Adams is an internationally recognised figure, sitting on a 70% share of the vote in West Belfast. Against that backdrop it is hard to think of the latest reports making a big difference in the forthcoming Westminster election. Nevertheless if the Adams brand has suffered damage it may tip the balance of power within republicanism more towards the Deputy First Minister, accelerating a process which has appeared to be underway for some time.

So far as Iris Robinson's resignation is concerned, the personal strains within the Robinson household already appear to have had an adverse impact in enabling the matter of a statement on the death of Cardinal Daly to slip through the First Minister's net. Mr Robinson says the family has received hundreds of messages of goodwill, after what has no doubt been a difficult Christmas. The First Minister is remaining out of circulation this week - on Monday he met Owen Paterson at his home. rather than at Stormont Castle, and he is not attending Cardinal Daly's funeral - instead sending Sammy Wilson and Arlene Foster to convey his condolences to Cardinal Brady.

Mrs Robinson's move leaves a number of vacancies in Strangford. There could be one or two MLA posts to be filled. Then there's the Westminster seat. As the longest serving of the other DUP MLAs, with nearly 4800 first preference votes, Jim Shannon no doubt fancies a crack at the seat. As a DUP member joked earlier today, if the shooting enthusiast Jim spent more time on the shuttle to London it might preserve some of the wildlife on the Ards Peninsula. That said the DUP party management might prefer to promote their bright young hope Simon Hamilton, who missed out on a junior ministerial job last time around.

However the Health Committee Chair, Jim Wells, is pointing out that his Ballynahinch voters are within the Strangford boundaires. Mr Wells is "neither confirming nor denying" that he will put his hat in the race, a phrase which most journalists would treat as a confirmation of interest. Certainly he is a tried and trusted performer, able to make telling speeches and interventions off the cuff, but will he prefer the prestige of Westminster over what he might regard as the greater powers of Stormont over "bread and butter" affairs.

Which brings us back around full circle to our New Year Crisis, because Stormont's powers could prove ephemeral if the differences over devolving justice aren't sorted out. I don't know whether they will be but predict that we might have a bit longer than a week as Sinn Fein assess their options.