The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, won praise and scorn from different strands of unionism last night for her decision to meet UDA and UFF prisoners in the Maze tomorrow in a high-risk attempt to bolster the loyalist ceasefire.
But while the DUP criticised her decision as "madness", it was welcomed by Mr David Trimble, the Ulster Unionist leader. And some senior loyalist figures were privately "cautiously optimistic" that Dr Mowlam's initiative could win them breathing space to return to the Stormont talks process, at least on a time-limited basis.
However, while welcoming Dr Mowlam's decision, the Ulster Democratic Party leader, Mr Gary McMichael, expressed anxiety that it might raise expectations among the prisoners which the Secretary of State could not deliver. "The crisis still exists and hasn't diminished," he insisted.
While public reaction was muted, Dr Mowlam's announcement sent a shiver through some nationalist circles, amid fears about the impact on a republican leadership which is accusing the loyalist parties of playing "the Orange card."
Sinn Fein's Northern chairperson, Mr Gerry O hEara, said Dr Mowlam should take the opportunity of her Maze visit to hear the concerns of all prisoners. The news of the Secretary of State's decision to visit the Maze - made with the full sanction of 10 Downing Street - came after more than 90 minutes of talks between Dr Mowlam and a delegation from the Ulster Democratic Party in London yesterday.
Earlier, Dr Mowlam had had discussions with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, and, separately, by telephone, with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews.
Speaking after his high-profile mission to Belfast for talks with the Progressive Unionist Party, Mr Andrews said he had promised the PUP he would seek to ensure all parties in the talks process were treated equally, and he acknowledged the "genuine disquiet" about the process felt by those the PUP represented.
Mr Andrews agreed with the PUP "that the integrity of the process is being undermined by the fact that too much is happening outside the process itself and too little inside it".
Stressing the PUP's "very important role" in the negotiation process, Mr Andrews expressed the hope that, after consultation, the party would be at Stormont when the talks resume on Monday.
Last night, Dr Mowlam strongly rejected suggestions that her action smacked of desperation.
But the unprecedented decision for a Secretary of State to talk directly to prisoners underlined the gravity of the situation as viewed from London, and spelt out starkly the threat of collapse hanging over the entire talks process should the UDP and PUP withdraw.
Dr Mowlam rejected suggestions that the process now depended on the decisions of convicted terrorists, insisting: "Far from it. The peace process is dependent on the parties in the talks reaching agreement."
Such agreement, she reiterated, would be put to the people in a referendum. "What I want to do is make sure there is enough unionist representation in the talks to make that move possible, to make the process viable."
Dr Mowlam rejected the charge of desperation. "I'm not desperate. I'm not negotiating. I'm determined. It takes courage to push things forward. It takes risks. Now I'm not going in to plead, negotiate, beg. I'm going in to make one very clear point to them - that if they want progress on issues that concern them then the only way they're going to get that is to find some overall settlement. The only way we're going to get a settlement is by talking."
Dr Mowlam's Maze talks will be dominated by the issue of prisoner releases and the direction and likely outcome of the Stormont multi-party talks process.
Loyalist prisoners are apparently seeking a commitment in principle to early releases in the context of a political agreement.
However, the private calculation of leading loyalist politicians is that - not least under conflicting pressure from the UUP - Dr Mowlam may fall short of that. At the same time it is clear that a desire to accelerate the talks process, and to secure an early indication of the shape of a likely agreement, looms large in loyalist and unionist thinking.
One source last night suggested a reduced time-scale, with potential heads of agreement on paper within a fortnight, and the outline of an overall agreement in place possibly by the end of February.