Decision to ban Orange Order parade on Garvaghy Road was lawful, Belfast High Court rules

LAST UPDATE | 42 mins ago

A LEGAL CHALLENGE to the decision by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant to ban the Drumcree Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road has been dismissed at Belfast High Court.

Bryant intervened on 9 October following a 13-day stand-off between Orangemen and residents of the mainly nationalist road in Portadown, Co Armagh.

A member of the Orange Order sought a judicial review of his intervention, with the challenge also concerning the role of PSNI chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

At hearings last week, Judge David Scoffield heard a challenge to the “legality of the decision-making route” used to ban the procession.

Counsel for Bryant argued that he could have taken “no other decision” than to halt the march.

Dismissing the application for a judicial review of the decision by Bryant to stop the parade, Mr Justice Scoffield said the decision was lawful.

“The Secretary of State’s decision was lawful and within the margin of discretion properly afforded to him, although it was highly regrettable it was required in the circumstances in which it arose,” he said.

Mr Justice Scoffield went on to say those opposed to the parade “should take no particular joy in the outcome of this case”.

He added: “The Secretary of State’s decision was lawful but the position which has now been reached has been brought about at very significant cost to the people of Northern Ireland, financially, through the diversion of police resources and in terms of community relations”.

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Garvaghy Road

The Parades Commission had approved an early-morning, silent procession by 35 Orange Order members along the Garvaghy Road on 27 September, without accompanying bands.

It was the first approval for the disputed route in almost 30 years, but large crowds of residents and supporters gathered in opposition and the parade did not proceed.

Police assessed that officers could not safely escort the procession along the road while the crowds remained.

Orangemen stayed on Drumcree Hill for almost two weeks, making repeated approaches to the police line in an attempt to complete the route.

Bryant hosted talks between the two sides at Hillsborough Castle, but efforts to reach an agreed resolution were unsuccessful.

Announcing the ban, he said Boutcher had advised that facilitating the procession would require a major intervention carrying “an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland”.

The court also heard last week that PSNI intelligence indicated dissident republicans might have mounted gun attacks on police if officers had cleared a route for the parade.

Bryant’s intervention was welcomed by residents and nationalist politicians but criticised by unionist representatives.

At the time, Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition representative Breandán Mac Cionnaith described stopping the parade as the only “sensible, reasonable and logical outcome”.

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the decision had “fundamentally undermined” the rule of law.

Additional reporting from PA