The Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme (COPT) was first scrapped in England and Wales after a review by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) found that prisoners who completed the programme were more likely to reoffend than those who had not.

There were particular concerns over the use of group treatment and its potential to normalise sexual offending.

The MOJ has revealed that interim changes were made to the programme after its replacement was approved in 2015.

The Northern Ireland Prison Service later suspended the programme, citing guidance from English prison authorities.

A spokesperson said: “Due to the small sample size, it has not been possible to conduct an evaluation specifically based on the outcomes for those men who have completed Core SOTP within Northern Ireland.

“It was suspended following guidance from Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service who had suspended delivery in England and Wales.”

A new programme called Horizon was introduced in England and Wales in March and will be introduced in Northern Ireland next month.

It is aimed at prisoners judged to have a medium risk of sexual reoffending, while another scheme aimed at those with a higher risk of reoffending, called Kaizen, will be implemented later.