The First Minister and Deputy First Minister have made their first public act by jointly signing a letter to Secretary of State for (Wales and) Northern Ireland. So? They've used this iconic act to request something that I'm sure we would all be grateful for: said Secretary of State's resignation! departure from Stormont. I knew it was too good to be true. Apparently asking him to vacate his office means moving to offices at Stormont Castle Buildings, not the resignation I'd originally thought. That said, calling for his resignation should be their next move.

Peter Hain and his fellow cronies at the NIO have treated the people of Northern Ireland (and definitely the unionist population) with nothing but contempt from day one. Nothing was beyond the pale when it came to blackmailing folk into power sharing; targets included the national stadium, water charges and academic selection and God knows what else. Hain "vacating his office" can't come a moment too soon. To borrow a turn of phrase from a commenter earlier today "Good riddance to bad rubbish."