Judge Barney McElholm of Londonderry Magistrates’ Court said the measures undertaken in his court had succeeded in persuading survivors of domestic abuse to continue taking part in the criminal justice process, The Irish News reports.

However, he told the Justice Institute’s first domestic violence training course in the UK that the roll-out of the pilot beyond Derry had been stalled by the lack of a functioning Northern Ireland Executive.

Judge McElholm said the approach in his court put victims at the centre of the process. He also reiterated his criticisms of current sentencing.