PETER Robinson was given a baptism of fire during his first seven days in office as first minister of the Stormont Assembly.After waiting more than 40 years to become the leader of Northern Ireland Unionists, even Robinson's inauguration last Thursday was not guaranteed.Up until the 11th hour Sinn Fein sources had warned that they would pull out of the power-sharing agreement over the Democratic Unionist Party's (DUP) refusal to allow the transfer of policing and justice powers and the implementation of new legislation protecting the Irish language.The political crisis was only averted with the intervention of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who brokered an agreement for further talks with Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at 10 Downing Street."I think we are all seized by the urgency of the situation and the need to make progress and I think that the thing we must do now is go back home and continue with our discussions next week in the hope that we can reach successful conclusions," McGuinness said.In a joint statement, Robinson and McGuinness said that they "look forward to working together after we have been nominated as first minister and deputy first minister. We recognize there are outstanding and unresolved issues which have been raised with the prime minister and which require urgent attention."However, less than 24 hours after becoming first minister, Robinson's wife Iris landed him in hot water over comments made following a homophobic attack on a man in Derry.Iris Robinson, who is an MP and an Assembly member in her own right, condemned the attack but claimed that homosexuality was an "abomination" that could be cured with psychiatric treatment.Those comments led to calls for Mrs. Robinson to resign. The first minister was forced to defend his wife's comments in the assembly.However, Robinson lost no time in ensuring that the political leadership of Ian Paisley was a thing of the past.Culture Minister Edwin Poots, who had been seen as a key ally of the Paisley dynasty, was removed from him ministerial position on Monday to be replaced by hardliner Gregory Campbell.Campbell, who refused to attend the Assembly inauguration of Paisley and McGuinness last May, is viewed as a key figure within the DUP and a staunch opponent of any concessions to Republicans.Robinson was later embroiled in further controversy when it was claimed that the DUP was engaged in a secret deal with the British government in which it would support the introduction of controversial anti-terror laws in exchange for an increase in government funding for Northern Ireland. The DUP later denied being part of any secret deal.