A High Court judge has postponed ruling on the heavily criticised appointment of the Northern Ireland Victims' Commissioner by Northern Secretary Peter Hain.
Last week Mr Justice Girvan strongly criticised the manner in which Bertha McDougall was named by Mr Hain as interim commissioner, saying he had breached acceptable standards.
The judge accused Mr Hain of "improper political motive" and of having "failed in his duty of candour" as well as trying "to divert attention from the true course of events".
Brenda Downes, the west Belfast widow of plastic bullet victim Seán Downes, had challenged the manner of the appointment.
The High Court was to have said yesterday what the response to the appointment should be. That has now been postponed.
Last week Mr Justice Girvan said the appointment of Mrs McDougall, the widow of a police officer murdered by the INLA, was politically motivated to help build unionist confidence in the political process.
The judge further criticised senior civil servants, saying they had been "providing misleading and incorrect information" about the appointment process.
The judge added that government departments had also failed to "disclose the true nature of the limited consultation which took place with one political party [the DUP]".
Mr Hain has said he will give the judge's findings serious consideration, but he has so far rejected calls from a group representing relatives of those killed as a result of alleged security force collusion to suspend the senior officials. "I am not intending to suspend them at all, so let's study the judgment, learn any lessons that need to be learned and respond accordingly," he said following the judge's comments.
The issue prompted a call yesterday by two Welsh MPs for Mr Hain to consider his position.
Welsh nationalist MP Elfyn Llwyd said the judge's criticisms of Mr Hain, who is also Welsh Secretary, were "devastating".
Conservative MP David Jones said Mr Hain should also consider if he should retain his two government jobs. The judge's comments were "trenchant, very damning criticism," he said. "It's a very demanding call for anybody to do two important jobs as secretaries of state and I think he ought to give serious consideration as to whether he can carry on doing both".
Mr Llwyd, who is also a barrister, told BBC Wales that the judge's criticisms were "devastating". "The comments are scathing, as trenchant as you can get from a High Court judge," he said.
However a spokesman for Mr Hain said Mr Llwyd's comments were "preposterous".
In an interview with BBC Wales yesterday, Mr Hain said: "Obviously, we're studying the judgment carefully and we're looking at the consequences of that. But the big picture is I was acting on behalf of victims and will continue to do so."