Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph shortly after his election, he said " Paul has done a fantastic job and he has helped to turn round the situation by working with the loyalists and encouraging people to transform their attitudes. He deserves great credit. If he had come here years ago the situation might not even have arisen. I regard him as a friend, and we have a good relationship."

Mr Finlay said that Ballymena, including Harryville, was now " a different place. The attacks on the chapel have stopped and the loyalist paramilitaries have replaced the old graffiti with non-sectarian murals. We are not the only community having to face up to sectarianism and the drug culture, and I believe that Ballymena is making progress."

He said it would be fair to describe him as a " theological conservative, but I don't like labels, and I don't 'tick all the boxes'."

He had not ruled out attending services as Moderator with Roman Catholics, but added: "It is not clear-cut, and I do not want to be drawn into a position by making statements so shortly after I have been elected."