Robinson backs 'attorney general'

DUP leader Peter Robinson has publicly backed the man earmarked to be Northern Ireland's attorney general when justice powers are devolved.

Earlier this week, John Larkin QC was involved in a war of words with the DUP's Ian Paisley Jr in his role as the QC for the Billy Wright Inquiry.

Mr Paisley said "a lot of things could happen" before Mr Larkin became attorney general.

However, Mr Robinson said Mr Larkin was still the DUP's choice for the job.

"We have already indicated who our attorney general would be," he said on Thursday evening.

Speaking before a meeting of the Executive, Mr Robinson said agreement had been reached on many aspects of policing and justice.

"We are also I think leading to the situation where it is clear we could identify who the future justice minister might be," he said.

"We have already got agreement on structures that are satisfactory - those structures allow us to ensure that there will not be a Sinn Fein minister which was concerning many people in Northern Ireland.

"They also ensure that we would have the level of accountability that people would want."

He said what still needed to be resolved were financing and community support for devolution of policing and justice.

People could not be asked to support it until they knew the funds were in place, he said.