Ukrainian MPs clear path for Poroshenko ally to become top prosecutor

Member of parliament Ihor Kononenko (L) speaks to his counterpart Yuriy Lutsenko during a session of parliament in Kiev, Ukraine, February 4, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday appointed a close ally of President Petro Poroshenko with no legal background as general prosecutor, a position seen by the West as crucial for Kiev's plans to tackle entrenched corruption.

To shouts of "shame" from some lawmakers, Poroshenko told parliament that his ally, Yuriy Lutsenko, a former interior minister and head of Poroshenko's parliamentary faction, would build public trust in the prosecution service.