Garvaghy Road protesters should face police probe: UUP's Jon Burrows
People blocking Garvaghy Road today should be investigated by the police, the leader of the UUP has said.
Jon Burrows was speaking as a large protest continued on the Portadown street, preventing its first scheduled Orange march in almost 30 years.
Video from the scene showed the PSNI repeatedly informing the crowd that they were taking part in an unnotified protest and therefore risking arrest.
Mr Burrows, who was a high-ranking policeman before entering politics, pointed to an overnight High Court ruling that the Orange parade could take place with hefty restrictions as proof the march was "permitted under a lawful determination, tested and upheld".
He added: “Blocking the road to prevent it is disgraceful, and the apparent unnotified protest must also be investigated.
“For 28 years, the Orange Order abided by determinations restricting its route. Had its members defied those determinations, they would rightly have faced the consequences. The law must apply equally today.”
The Ulster Unionist also called for “an urgent off-ramp” to resolve the dispute.
“A prolonged confrontation risks damaging our peace, our economy and our stability, and putting police officers in harm's way,” he said.
“There is a mediation process in place with a facilitator already appointed; Portadown District agreed to take part without preconditions. Today makes that process more necessary, not less, and I would urge those who have not yet engaged with it to do so, and to use their influence to bring this stand-off to a peaceful end.
“However, we must be clear: everyone who broke the law today must face the consequences, no matter who they are.”