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The deputy first minister also insisted that the delegation was "not going to the government with a begging bowl".

He urged ministers to start allocating money based on need rather than the "begging bowl culture of competitive bidding".

Mr Theuri, the LSK president, told the BBC the outcome of the meeting appeared as if the judiciary had gone to the executive with a "begging bowl… Ultimately it goes towards undermining judiciary's independence and autonomy."

Andy Street, the Conservative mayor of the West Midlands, has criticised the funding process, calling it a "broken begging bowl culture".

In January, Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street condemned the process and called for an end to Whitehall's "broken begging bowl culture".