Shadow NI Secretary Owen Patterson (pictured) has said the Tory party will not provide assurances over funding for further devolved powers at Stormont.

Earlier, Peter Robinson said David Cameron must endorse the financial package set aside to transfer policing and justice responsibilities to the Assembly.

The First Minister claimed it would be "irresponsible" to agree funding provisions with just Labour given the likelihood of a general election.

He said Tory leader Mr Cameron, whose party is currently leading popular opinion polls, must be involved in talks.

However, Mr Patterson, the Conservatives' NI spokesman, was none committal.

He said: "We are facing a major economic crisis should we win the next election. We cannot give any guarantees on any spending programmes.

"We will look at the details. All I can assure you is that we will do the right thing for Northern Ireland and that we will be responsible."

Mr Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are in London today for another meeting with Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Yesterday Mr McGuinness said policing and justice powers needed to be devolved before Christmas, adding it would be a "tragedy" if this failed to happen.

However, with funding still central to establishing the new department, Mr Robinson said: "There is a possibility of an alternative government and it would be irresponsible of us to simply tie up a deal, as it were, with the present occupant of Downing Street to find that in a year's time everything was to change.

"So I think we would want to have long-term certainty about our position was going to be."

Today, the first and deputy first ministers are expected call on Mr Brown to close a reported funding gap of £600m for setting up and maintaining the new institutions.

Despite working with the Treasury throughout the summer, Belfast officials are believed to have said the gap is still too wide.

(PR/BMcC)