By Mark Devenport BBC Northern Ireland political editor

In Ulster Scots it's a Greetin' Wean. In English it's a crying child. Let's mix metaphors completely and call it a squeaky wheel.

Whichever way you phrase it, it's only when you make a noise that anyone takes any notice.

That is when parents rush to their baby's cot, when engineers rush for their oil cans, and when government ministers rush to address politicians' grievances.

All of which the UVF and the Progressive Unionists were very well aware of when they broke off contact with General John De Chastelain's Decommissioning Commission and severed any direct links with Sinn Fein.

For loyalists, the last few weeks have been frustrating as they have witnessed the formal round table talks at Stormont apparently going nowhere.

David Ervine: Demands to be told of any discussions on "acts of completion"

At the same time they have heard the widespread rumours that private talks between republicans and the British and Irish Governments are making far more progress.

This frustration is one of the key reasons for the vociferous nature of the UVF's protest.

But loyalists are also concerned about the alleged targeting of their activists by the IRA and the increasing concentration of the Chief Constable Hugh Orde on loyalist involvement in organised crime.

Moreover, the context for the latest moves is a forthcoming election - and with polls pointing to a hardening of attitudes amongst the Protestant working class, David Ervine and Billy Hutchinson can hardly head into a tough campaign looking like 'peace process poodles'.

That said, there are some ironies in the current spasm of loyalist anger.

Bargaining

The UVF doesn't like the fact that the IRA is still targeting.

But republicans claim that loyalists are engaged in the same activity.

If the police are preparing to crack down on organised crime, then surely this should be part of the law abiding future that all elected politicians allegedly aspire towards.

The Progressive Unionists demand to be kept informed about any discussions on "acts of completion".

However, whenever they are questioned about loyalist decommissioning they emphatically rule it out.

It is true Billy Hutchinson was the first link person to be appointed by any paramilitary group to General De Chastelain's Commission.

Tantrum

Yet the only loyalist faction to have actually handed over any guns remains the breakaway Mid Ulster based Loyalist Volunteer Force.

Some officials wonder whether the latest UVF moves might be a bargaining position.

If the IRA engages in "acts of completion' pressure will be on loyalists to respond.

What better immediate response than to re-instate the line of contact which has just been broken off?

However it would be wrong to be too dismissive of the loyalist tantrum. If the loyalists' withdrawal of cooperation extends - as it may - to their role in helping to calm Belfast's interface areas, then it could prove destabilising.

Making a deal stick will be difficult if there's mayhem on the ground.

Having lost the UDA ceasefire, the government can ill afford to preside over any weakening of the other main loyalist faction's commitment to peace.

With this in mind, ministers say their door is open. The Secretary of State will do his best - given the chance - to calm the UVF's nerves.

Whether he can soothe the Greetin' Wean will depend both on Paul Murphy's child-minding skills and just how colicky the loyalist baby really is.