They came, they tried, they failed

THE two premiers deserved A for effort, but still walked away from the latest Northern drama with an F for failure.

Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown looked understandably deflated and tired as they retreated from Hillsborough Castle, still trying to put the best spin possible on the 45 hours they had invested there by insisting they had created an elusive-sounding “pathway to an agreement”.

Unfortunately, that pathway remains road-blocked by the strewn wreckage of the impact of the DUP and Sinn Féin political juggernauts smashing into one another along its route.