Liam Adams, brother of Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams, has lost an appeal at the High Court in Belfast against his conviction and sentence for raping and abusing his daughter.

The 59-year-old was found guilty of a string of attacks on his daughter Aine Dahlstrom when she was aged between four and nine during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

He was handed a 16-year sentence in 2013, but sought to have his convictions overturned.

Delivering a reserved judgment, Lord Justice Patrick Coghlin said: "The court has not been persuaded that the verdict of the jury was unsafe and, consequently, the appeal must be dismissed."

Judge Coghlin added: "In the circumstances, we are not persuaded that the learned trial judge erred in the exercise of her discretion and, accordingly, we reject this ground of appeal."

Liam Adams, formerly of Bernagh Drive in west Belfast, was convicted of ten offences against his daughter - three counts of rape, four of indecent assault and three of gross indecency.

He committed the crimes when he was left alone with his daughter, often sneaking into her room while she slept.

The abuse was committed over a five-year period between 1977 and 1981.

In later years he went on to work in a number of youth centres in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Ms Dahlstrom, now in her early 40s, waived her right to anonymity.

Liam Adams' convictions heaped pressure on Gerry Adams to explain why he did not alert the authorities to the abuse allegations when he initially learned of them.

The Sinn Féin leader has insisted he acted properly and accused political rivals of exploiting a family issue to attack him.