The era of direct rule in Northern Ireland must end, Paul Murphy has told Labour's conference.

Elections to the Stormont assembly should be held "in the coming weeks" he said.

"But an election serves a purpose: it must create a government," said Murphy.

Addressing the closing day of the annual conference, the Northern Ireland secretary said the province must be given self-rule.

But he warned there was "no room for hatred and bigotry" on the political landscape.

Murphy said all parties now had to show they were committed to peace.

"We are determined that the agreement will be implemented in its entirety and that it will realise the potential that people saw in it five years ago," he said.

Slamming the "thugs" who remain the obstacle to full-scale devolution, Murphy said he was determined to achieve a handover of power.

"We must now redouble our efforts," he said. "People in Northern Ireland want devolution back."

Regardless of the province's "troubled past" the future would be in the people's hands.

"When we have an assembly in Wales and a parliament in Scotland, with local ministers and local accountability, it just isn't right that Northern Ireland should be run by MPs from Torfaen, Merseyside, the Black Country and Essex," he said.