A proposal by the Northern Ireland Attorney General to end investigations into killings during the Troubles has been met with outrage from the relatives of those who died.

John Larkin QC claimed a line should be drawn under offences perpetrated before the signing of the 1998 Good Friday peace agreement.

Mr Larkin stressed that his proposals did not amount to an amnesty, but said: "More than 15 years have passed since the Belfast Agreement, there have been very few prosecutions, and every competent criminal lawyer will tell you the prospects of conviction diminish, perhaps exponentially, with each passing year, so we are in a position now where I think we have to take stock."