Lord Justice Weir, the presiding judge of the Coroners’ Court, has said legacy inquests in Northern Ireland are given a “very low” priority by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The senior judge is midway through a two-week review of 56 legacy cases, many of which have not proceeded beyond preliminary hearings because of delays in the disclosure of classified material by the MoD and PSNI.

Barrister Mark Robinson, for the MoD, earlier said that disclosure work could not be carried out on all 56 cases simultaneously.

However, Lord Weir said it “could be done simultaneously if they were adequately resourced”.

He has now criticised suggestions that the resources cannot be allocated due to funding shortages.

He told Belfast Magistrates’ Court: “The MoD is not short of money. It’s busy all over the world fighting wars and it’s about to buy some new submarines with nuclear warheads – so it’s not short of money. This is obviously very low on their list of priorities.”

Lord Weir added: “It’s not like buying a new Jeep or getting a new regimental mascot. This is not an option – this is an international obligation on the state.”