Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire has confirmed that legislation will be brought forward to allow for the publication of political donations made to Northern Ireland parties after 1 July 2017.

Mr Brokenshire said there was “much consensus” between the parties “on the need for greater transparency around political donations”.

It marks an historic shift in policy for Northern Ireland, where political donations have long been kept private.

However, Mr Brokenshire has resisted calls to make the publication of donations retrospective for previous years, as called for by the Alliance Party and the Green Party in Northern Ireland.

In a letter sent to Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Smith yesterday, Mr Brokenshire said he “did not believe it right to impose retrospective regulations on people who donated in accordance with the rules as set out in law at the time”.

The same thresholds for publication as in the rest of the UK will apply in Northern Ireland - £7,500 (or £1.500 for local accounting units).