Bleak picture if nominations fail

By Mark Devenport BBC Northern Ireland political editor

The secretary of state has warned there will be consequences if the DUP fails to even indicate on Friday who their choice will be for first minister should devolution be restored in March.

During tense exchanges in the Commons, Peter Hain also took the DUP to task for recent comments about the timetable for devolving policing and justice.

The DUP leader Ian Paisley asked Mr Hain what would happen if the parties failed on Friday to designate, nominate or indicate who their choices for the first and deptuy first ministers jobs would be.

Peter Hain said there would be consequences

It's widely expected that should devolution be restored Ian Paisley would take the first minister's position himself, whilst Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness would be deputy first minister.

Mr Hain appeared exasperated, saying that if the parties could not even give an indication then people would draw some "bleak conclusions".

He questioned what would be the point of pressing ahead if nothing happens on Friday.

The DUP North Belfast MP Nigel Dodds told the government that by asking for an indication of who would take the jobs before Sinn Fein has made a move to change its policing policy, ministers were in effect asking the DUP to "jump first".

In a reference to recent comments by Mr Dodds that policing powers would not be transferred in a lifetime, Mr Hain said such remarks hardly encouraged Sinn Fein to change its policy by starting to support the police.

Mr Hain told MPs he will be sending a direction to the Stormont Speaker, Eileen Bell, to call a meeting of the assembly on Friday morning at 1030 GMT.

He says an indication on the two top jobs will trigger the new "transitional" assembly.

But the tenor of Wednesday's exchanges seems to indicate that precisely what will happen is still up for negotiation.

It appears likely that Sinn Fein will be definite in their designation of Martin McGuinness as deputy first minister - in fact they want him to be seen as occupying the post for all practical purposes after 24 November.

Peter Robinson wants clarity on the Irish language bill

However, the DUP will be much more ambiguous in whatever they say - as the Liberal Democrat Lembit Opik put it, the DUP are "condition led, not deadline led" and the furthest they have gone is to talk about expressing "a qualified willingness to proceed".

During Northern Ireland Questions, the DUP deputy leader, Peter Robinson, also raised the question of the "Sewel convention".

This is the rule used in Scotland by which Westminster only rules on devolved matters with the consent of the Scottish parliament.

Peter Robinson's motive in raising this point was to clarify that the Irish language bill - promised by the government to Sinn Fein at St Andrews - would be a devolved matter.

Mr Robinson wants to ensure that it will be up to the assembly to decide what happens to the bill, and given the DUP opposes the measure, unionists would be likely to block it or at the very least radically amend any legislation.

Mr Hain confirmed that the government is to launch a consultation on the bill next month.

The secretary of state said it would be up to the assembly to deal with the measure, provided, he pointed out, that devolution is restored in March next year.