The Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary has criticised the government’s handling of the legacy left by the Troubles.

Labour MP for Gedling in Nottinghamshire Vernon Coaker is currently the NI Shadow Secretary.

During Labour’s conference in Manchester, he accused the government of stalling progress in the peace process by not facilitating talks between the main political parties at Stormont.

He said he would have "heeded the call" of those affected by the Troubles and slammed the government, saying it had done nothing.

Mr Coaker said many communities in NI were still "deeply divided".

"Sectarianism is an ingrained and uncomfortable truth across all sections of society”, he said.

Mr Coaker told delegates: "A shared future can only happen through building shared spaces and shared experiences with shared prosperity and shared responsibility.

"That includes taking responsibility for what happened in the past. Because we need to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland's Troubles, the death of 3,000 people and injuries and trauma for tens of thousands more. We can't truly move forward until we do."

He called for a comprehensive, inclusive process which would face Northern Ireland’s past and make the focal point victims and survivors.

"Even when the Assembly asked the secretary of state to help facilitate talks between all parties, they (the government) did nothing," Mr Coaker said.

"If I'd been in that position, I'd have heeded the call of political parties and victims and survivors in Northern Ireland and convened talks to discuss how we move forward. That's the way to do it.

"Because unlike the do-nothing Tories, I won't hide away or shirk my responsibility on this or any other issue, and neither will any future Labour government", he added.

(IT/GK)