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Northern Ireland's Attorney General has thrown a slipper at the great pyjama debate.

Tugging tightly on a metaphorical dressing gown cord, John Larkin, QC, told a human rights conference in Belfast there were "some areas where it is not appropriate to involve lawyers".

He was referring to a campaign by residents of a public housing association for the right to wear their pyjamas outdoors.

Mr Larkin said the cause of human rights in Northern Ireland was in danger of being trivialised by misuse.

The campaign was evidence of a "contemporary malaise" and misunderstanding of the term, "human rights", he said.

In some parts of Belfast, wearing pyjamas for shopping or dropping children to school has become part of normal life.

The trend has been dubbed: "All Day Pyjama Syndrome".

In January, Tesco, the supermarket giant, drew the line and asked customers not to shop barefoot or in their night gear.

Two years ago, Joe McGuinness, the principal of St Matthew's Primary School, sent a stern letter to parents saying wearing pyjamas on the school run was "slovenly and rude".

However, Sinn Fein councillor Fra McCann has defended people's right to wear whatever they want.

"A variety of clothing is worn outdoors, like shorts and vests, so why not pyjamas?" he said.