The country’s top white-collar crime watchdog who announced his retirement today has been forced to make a dramatic u-turn under intense pressure from the Cabinet.

The Public Expenditure and Reform Minister Brendan Howlin has said the previous government left the current one with "a €2bn hole" of cuts in social welfare.

The notorious Maze jail site has been identified as the only suitable location for Northern Ireland’s new national sports stadium, the British government said tonight.