Tories back Brown's justice deal

The prime minister said "our aim is a peaceful, more secure and more prosperous Northern Ireland".

Conservative Party leader David Cameron has said he will respect the prime minister's agreement on policing and justice with Northern Ireland leaders.

Mr Brown said he had written to the party leaders outlining the budget, believed to be between £800m and £1bn.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said he and First Minister Peter Robinson met Mr Cameron on Wednesday.

He said Mr Cameron indicated he was very supportive of the need to transfer policing and justice powers to NI.

Mr Robinson had been anxious to ensure that any future Conservative government honoured the deal agreed with Mr Brown.

PRIME MINISTER'S LETTER Read Gordon Brown's letter in full Brown publishes NI policing plans

The prime minister published his budget proposals for the devolution of policing and justice following a series of meetings with the Northern Ireland first and deputy first ministers.

He told the Commons on Wednesday that "our aim is a peaceful, more secure and more prosperous Northern Ireland".

Mr Brown said he had made arrangements for the cost of dealing with security emergencies in Northern Ireland to be met from Treasury reserves.

There had been concerns at Stormont that future security problems could have swallowed up devolved budgets for services such as education, housing and health.

Chief Constable Matt Baggott said he had been briefed on the financial package by government officials and discussed the offer with Policing Board chairman Barry Gilligan.

Devolution may be somewhat closer but it is not close enough Alex Attwood SDLP policing spokesman

"We welcome the clarification we have received and are encouraged by this progress," he said.

"This is a complex settlement and will require further discussions between ourselves and the Board over the next few days.

"We are totally committed to providing the service that our community deserves and expects."

SDLP policing spokesman Alex Attwood said a financial deal may have been reached but "political certainty" was less secure.

"We still don't have a date for transfer and the DUP have a wish-list around the Parades Commission, north-south bodies, potentially a review of the Good Friday Agreement and over the next days and weeks we're going to see that rolled out," he said.

"Devolution may be somewhat closer but it is not close enough.

"Given the forensic approach that Peter Robinson takes to negotiations, I would be very surprised if he would sign off on the basis of a two-page letter from Gordon Brown."

It appears that a number of the outstanding issues are well-resolved but it doesn't seem to suggest it's going to be an easy budget to live with in the future David Ford Alliance Party leader

Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey said his party was reserving judgement on its position regarding the financial deal.

He raised concerns that the wider agreement that Sinn Fein and the DUP have brokered on devolving justice powers has a sunset clause and could lapse in 2012.

"I have said previously that the UUP agrees with the devolution of policing and justice but we want to see it built to last, not just shift the problem 18 months down the track," he said.

Alliance leader David Ford, who is widely expected to be appointed justice minister, said he believed Mr Brown's financial plan represented a reasonable offer.

"It appears that a number of the outstanding issues are well-resolved but it doesn't seem to suggest it's going to be an easy budget to live with in the future," he said.

"We will be starting with a relatively clean slate but we all know that every agency and department across the UK is going to have problems with finance in the coming years and the justice department in Northern Ireland is going to have to be as efficient as everybody else."

Dawn Purvis, leader of the loyalist Progressive Unionist Party, welcomed Mr Brown's offer and called on party leaders to complete devolution.

Jim Allister, leader of the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice, said he opposed giving republicans any role in overseeing policing and justice.

"As republicans have repeatedly made clear, they see the ending of British control of policing and justice and the transfer of those powers into an Executive where they hold sway as a key part of their strategy," he said.