Northern Ireland's Director of Public Prosecutions has insisted he has not been forced out of office over controversial legacy cases.
Barra McGrory said he regrets that the legacy issue "has become the story" of his tenure and admitted that dealing with cases related to the Troubles were "an unanticipated aspect of the job".
Mr McGrory said he had always intended to leave the post after five or six years to go back to practising at the Bar.
Announcing his intention to step down in September, Mr McGrory insisted his decision was "absolutely not because of legacy".
Mr McGrory has faced a storm of criticism over the prosecution of former soldiers for killings during the Troubles.
Earlier this month unionists called for his resignation after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against ex-soldier Dennis Hutchings, 75, over the 1974 shooting of John-Pat Cunningham.
Previously, a judge had said there was insufficient evidence to proceed with the charge against Hutchings.
Mr McGrory said the legacy issue is going to be a difficult one for any prosecutor to deal with.
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"If all of the legacy controversy had not happened we would still be having this conversation," said Mr McGrory.
He added: "My heart lies in the representative role. I left that with the intention of returning to it. (I have) absolutely not been pushed out because of legacy.
"Legacy is going to be difficult for any prosecutor because the conflict will be relived in some senses. All decisions will be viewed through the prism of the different communities' views."
Mr McGrory also said he "regrets that legacy has become the story of my tenure here".
He added: "It was an unanticipated aspect of the job.
"I wish the political architects of the peace process had dealt with legacy."
Mr McGrory became the first Catholic to hold the post of Director of Public Prosecutions when he was appointed in November 2011.
He said it has been "an honour" to lead the PPS.
He added that if he had his time over again he "would not have approached the job any differently".
As arguments continue about how legacy issues are addressed, one significant legal anomaly has emerged.
As part of the Good Friday Agreement, provision was made that anyone convicted of a Troubles-related offence before April 1998 would serve a maximum of two years in prison.
But it is now clear that this stipulation relates to crimes between April 1998 and August 1973, when non-jury courts, known as Diplock Courts were introduced.
The anomaly leaves open the possibility that Troubles-related offences committed during the late 60s up to August 1973 are not covered by the two-year maximum sentence provision.
Up to now, no significant criminal prosecutions have taken place to test this anomaly.
It is likely that the British government will come under pressure to introduce legislation that would address the situation.
The Northern Ireland DPP position will now be advertised. A four-person panel, led by Northern Ireland's Attorney General, interviewed candidates for the vacancy, including Mr McGrory in 2011.
At the time of his appointment he said it "recognised the transformation in society in the North of Ireland, generally".
A keen fiddle player and Irish speaker, Mr McGrory is the son of the late PJ McGrory, the lawyer who brought to the European Court of Human Rights the case of three IRA members shot dead in 1988 by British undercover soldiers in Gibraltar.
