DUP leader Arlene Foster wrote to Scottish ministers asking them to restrict same-sex marriages for couples from Northern Ireland - then denied such a letter ever existed.

Speaking last week, the politician claimed she had no recollection of sending the correspondence to the administration in Edinburgh.

But the Scottish Government has now published the letter, which Foster sent to then Scottish local government minister Marco Biagi in 2015.

It urged the minister to exclude Northern Ireland-based couples from legislation that enabled people in civil partnerships to convert those unions to same-sex marriages.

Biagi tweeted about the existence of the letter after the general election, amid an increased UK-wide focus on the DUP's socially conservative stance on issues such as gay marriage.

In a radio interview last week, Foster denied sending such a letter while she was Stormont's finance minister.

"I'm not quite sure what he (Biagi) was referring to but it certainly wasn't a letter from me and I've no recollection of a letter from me," she told BBC Radio Ulster.

"If I'd written to him officially as minister of finance or something like that around recognition laws here in Northern Ireland, I have no recollection of it. I certainly didn't write in a personal capacity."

However, the letter, dated September 4, 2015, is signed by Foster.

It was a follow-up to a letter from her predecessor as finance minister, the DUP's Simon Hamilton. That letter has also been made public.

The letters did not cite moral or political objections to the proposed legislation in Scotland, but highlighted potential legal issues.

They said complications could arise from couples having "dual status", where they are recognised as civil partners in Northern Ireland but as married in Scotland.

Foster wrote: "I'm sure neither of us would wish to place same sex couple in an uncertain legal position, which maybe (sic) difficult and expensive to resolve."

Biagi rejected the request from the Northern Ireland ministers.

In his reply, dated November 24, 2015, he said it would "not be appropriate" to exclude Northern Ireland couples from availing of the legislation.

Clare Bailey, Green MLA for Belfast South, said:"This shows clear hypocrisy on the part of the DUP.

"They castigated the Scottish Government for discussing healthcare access to women from Northern Ireland, while Simon Hamilton and Arlene Foster have attempted to pollute Holyrood with their anti-equality agenda.

"The DUP knows no bounds when it comes to suppressing the rights of women and LGBTQ citizens in Northern Ireland. I'm glad that these letters have been released and the hypocrisy of the DUP exposed."