Chris Bryant Bans Drumcree Parade After 13-Day Standoff Over Garvaghy Road
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 9
Chris Bryant Bans Drumcree Parade After 13-Day Standoff Over Garvaghy Road
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Oct 9
Summary
Sir Chris Bryant said the Orange Order procession at Drumcree cannot go ahead, reversing the practical effect of a ruling that had allowed the 27 September march with restrictions.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher asked for a review, warning the parade would require a major intervention and carry an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and wider contagion across Northern Ireland.
The ban ends 13 days of deadlock in Portadown, where up to 1,000 protesters initially blocked Garvaghy Road and residents and Orangemen have since faced off while police repeatedly turned marchers back.
Garvaghy Road residents, Sinn Féin and Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin welcomed the move as a relief, while the Portadown District Orange lodge and DUP leader Gavin Robinson said it rewarded republican pressure.
The dispute has already cost about £3 million in policing and revives a route that triggered riots, roadblocks and killings during the Drumcree confrontations of the 1990s.