Mr David Trimble acted last night to quash suggestions that the growing row over the decommissioning of IRA weapons could trigger his resignation as Northern Ireland's First Minister.
At the same time The Irish Times has learned that Mr Trimble has warned the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, she risks provoking "a political crisis" by pushing for a more specific timetable for Sinn Fein's entry into the Northern Ireland Executive. The Ulster Unionist leader issued his warning in a letter last week objecting to proposed standing orders for the Assembly during its "interim" period which would require the operation of the d'Hondt formula bringing the Shadow Executive into being "immediately" following agreement on the departmental make-up of the new administration.
Speaking during a visit to the Liberal Democrat conference in Brighton, Mr Trimble said he did not know where or how the suggestion that he was prepared to quit had originated. "These reports do not come from me and I have not made any such threat," he told reporters, adding: "Some of these people who are making these comments are not the most reliable guides to my thoughts."
That was immediately taken as a reference to Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, the Lagan Valley MP and leading anti-agreement campaigner, who claimed yesterday that Mr Trimble was "not bluffing" and had spoken of his possible resignation at several private party meetings.
"He is not bluffing," said Mr Donaldson: "He is aware of the deep unease within the party and this warning accurately reflects what he has been saying over the last couple of weeks."
The embarrassment for Mr Trimble was that Mr Donaldson was confirming the "warning" spelt out 24 hours earlier by Mr John Taylor, the Ulster Unionist deputy leader.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Mr Taylor was quoted as saying: "There can be no question of Ulster Unionists sitting in an Executive with Sinn Fein while the republican movement refuses to decommission. That was spelt out clearly in our election manifesto. If an attempt is made to force our hand it will lead to the resignation of David Trimble as First Minister."
Mr Trimble's denial of any resignation threat spelt some immediate relief in Dublin ahead of his meeting tonight with the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and against a backdrop of continuing behind-the-scenes moves by British and Irish officials to resolve the potentially explosive issues of decommissioning, the timetable for the creation of the Shadow Executive, and the accountability of new North-South structures to the Dail and the Assembly.
But the suspicion of a public relations campaign spinning beyond his control - and the ready enthusiasm of anti-agreement unionists to confirm the resignation threat - will have reinforced the awareness in both capitals of the scale of unionist divisions and the continuing challenge to Mr Trimble's position.
That challenge was underlined again last night with confirmation that a new Ulster Unionist pressure group - likely to be called Union First - is expected to be formed within the next two weeks. It is understood the pressure group will be headed by younger party members closely allied with Mr Donaldson. And there were unconfirmed reports last night that the former party leader, Lord Molyneaux, might agree to act as its patron.
External pressure was also building on Mr Trimble as DUP sources indicated it would table a motion in the Assembly, seeking Sinn Fein's exclusion from ministerial office, following the interim standing orders due to be presented by Dr Mowlam.
Despite Sinn Fein warnings that unionist decommissioning demands were creating "a crisis at the centre of the peace process", Mr Trimble told Liberal Democrats yesterday he believed the hurdle would be overcome.