Assembly parties united yesterday to endorse the Speaker's praise for civilian staff who disarmed and detained Michael Stone at Stormont last Friday.
Confirming that a security review had begun, Mrs Eileen Bell said: "No-one should underestimate the very real danger everyone in the building faced. The devices that were defused may have been crude in nature, but were no less life threatening for that."
The Irish Times understands that Assembly security staff were supplemented last Friday by an outside security firm and that the woman who wrested a gun from the loyalist killer was employed by them.
Security at Stormont is now being reviewed with armed police officers taking up positions in the grounds and just inside the doors of the Great Hall, where Stone attempted to launch his attack.
It is the first time routine policing has returned to Parliament Buildings since 2001 when the "brawl in the hall" involving some Assembly members took place.
The Assembly session, which resumed after last week's suspension due to the attack, heard Alliance leader David Ford conclude his speech with criticism of the main unionist and nationalist parties. However, the main discordant note of the debate came from UK Unionist Robert McCartney who dismissed last Friday's contributions from Sinn Féin and the DUP as "a choreographed puppet show".
He said the speech by the Rev Ian Paisley was a "moment of truth" for the DUP leader and his party.
"When you, Madam Speaker, on Peter Hain's instructions, deemed Ian Paisley's response as an acceptance [ that he will go into an Executive alongside Martin McGuinness], he could there and then have denied that it was. He did not," Mr McCartney told the chamber.
"I understand that his response omitted the express acceptance in the text agreed with Tony Blair. Subsequently, he publicly accepted the nomination outside this chamber." Mr McCartney charged that this was an invalid acceptance and ought to be repeated inside the Assembly and for it to be recorded.
He accused the DUP of being a "born again" pro-Belfast Agreement party and of making a blatant u-turn on its stated position included in its last manifesto.
He said Peter Hain and Tony Blair wanted devolution at any price "before Blair retires and Hain moves on".
"They are indifferent to the unstable, unworkable and undemocratic mess they leave behind." Devolution for Sinn Féin was, he added, "a mere cog in their all-Ireland strategy".
"Acceptance by the DUP as coalition partners will legitimise their claim to a place in the government of the Republic." The DUP, Mr McCartney claimed, wanted to "move on by selling their unionist principles for a mess of ministerial potage".
Speaking after the debate, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said: "This is a difficult process. It is very much inch by inch. It is a matter of trying to bring representatives across a line and into a new place." He accused Mr Hain of politicking with the issue of policing.
Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey pointed to what he said was the DUP's tacit acceptance of the governments' interpretation that Ian Paisley is publicly prepared to become First Minister with Martin McGuinness as Deputy First Minister.
"No attempt was made today by Dr Paisley or Gerry Adams to resile from anything that was said either in the chamber or outside on Friday," he said. "That means effectively that we have an embryonic First and Deputy First Minister in office and within the hour we will be going to a meeting of an embryonic shadow executive."
He accused the DUP of jumping without delivery on policing from republicans or any indicative timetable on when they would accept the PSNI.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan questioned the governments' decision that there existed a reliable basis on which to proceed with efforts towards restoring devolution.
"We now see questions arising as to when Sinn Féin might address the issue of policing. That, in turn, brings back the deadlock from the DUP, saying they are not moving in relation to restoration without Sinn Féin having already moved on policing," he said.
London and Dublin had to address that problem.