No Christmas card from Stormont pair

They were often pictured together during a recent trip to the US, but Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness will not be issuing a joint Christmas card.

The two men visited the United States for five days

Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers are stopping short of signing the same card to mark the festive period.

It means they will not be following in the footsteps of their predecessors, Ulster Unionist David Trimble and the SDLP's Seamus Mallon.

However, a spokeswoman told BBC News there "may be something else happening in place of the Christmas cards, but plans are not yet finalised".

She also said that DUP leader Mr Paisley and Sinn Fein's Mr McGuinness may issue cards separately through their own parties.

The pair met President Bush during last week's much publicised trip to New York and Washington and also attended lunch at Capitol Hill.

They were photographed switching on New York's Nasdaq stock exchange together - and their images beamed out its seven-storey video screen.

Stormont's top two made the trip in an attempt to attract interest ahead of a US-backed investment conference in Belfast next spring.