DUP says it cannot be ‘business as usual’ at Stormont after parading row

DUP leader Gavin Robinson had been facing calls from unionist rivals to collapse the powersharing institutions over the furore around the Drumcree parade in Portadown but he opted for a different approach on Monday, making clear he did not intend to be “reckless”.

However, Mr Robinson said his party would pursue a “pathway” and initiate a “range of actions”.

He said that would include complaints to the Assembly’s Commissioner for Standards, calls for censure and motions of no confidence.

He said there was also a “clear requirement” for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) to “prosecute anyone who has broken the law”.

On Monday Sinn Fein First Minister Michelle O’Neill defended her participation in the protest, telling the Assembly she was “proud” to be involved.

Away from Stormont, Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant held crunch talks at Hillsborough Castle on Monday with Orangemen and nationalist residents in a bid to resolve the intensifying dispute over the controversial parade in Portadown.

Sir Chris had separate meetings with representatives from both the Orange Order and the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition.

Loyal order members remained at Drumcree in Portadown on Monday after a weekend of tension in the Co Armagh town after their planned parade was stopped by police, as officers were concerned about the scale of a mass protest on part of the proposed route – the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road.

Orangemen attempted to commence their parade on several occasions, including in the early hours of Monday morning, but police halted them on each occasion.

Senior Orangemen in the Portadown district have called on PSNI chief constable Jon Boutcher to resign for failing to clear the road and facilitate the parade.

The PSNI has defended its approach, with Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson saying the use of force to move protesters off the Garvaghy Road risked people getting “seriously hurt”.

Mr Henderson confirmed the protest on the Garvaghy Road was “unlawful and unnotified”.

The Drumcree parading dispute, which was associated with violent disorder during the Troubles, has been reignited after the Parades Commission adjudication panel granted permission for a limited parade down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years.

The row has rocked the Stormont devolved institutions, with Ms O’Neill facing claims of “law breaking” for participating in Sunday’s protest, which was an illegal gathering.

The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) party has called on the DUP to withdraw the party’s deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly from office – a move that would forcibly remove Ms O’Neill from her post in the joint office.

Monday’s sitting of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which was initially dominated by the parading controversy, began with a plea to MLAs from Stormont speaker Edwin Poots to avoid engaging in rhetoric that might inflame tensions.

Addressing reporters in Stormont’s Great Hall, DUP leader and East Belfast MP Mr Robinson said: “As you will appreciate, given the events over the weekend, there can be no business as usual.

“We have a fundamental problem with individuals who have taken a pledge of office to uphold the law, to respect the police, the courts, and the rule of law, to act in such an illegal way.”

Giving a personal statement from the backbenches on Monday, Sinn Fein vice president Ms O’Neill questioned why the Orange Order wanted to march down the road.

She said the days of unionist “supremacy and domination” are gone.

“I think those people that wanted to force this march down that road need to give their heads a shake,” she said.

“Why do the Orange Order, why do the DUP, why does unionism in general want to railroad over the rights of these people? Why do you want to trample over these people?

“Well, we will not accept that. The Garvaghy Road residents do not want that. They are entitled to live their life free from fear and intimidation. I will assert that right for them all day long and every day. This is 2026, folks, and we are not going back.”

Speaking after the Orange Order’s hour-long meeting with Sir Chris at Hillsborough Castle, Portadown District Master Nigel Dawson said: “We had a very constructive and detailed meeting with the Secretary of State, and we expect to probably hear from him again later on in the day, or from his officials.

“We are now returning back to Drumcree, where we left this morning.”

Breandan Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition said he told the Northern Ireland Secretary that the group would be open to a mediation process to resolve the parade dispute.

Speaking after meeting Sir Chris, Mr Mac Cionnaith said he wanted an international mediator to oversee the process.

He also accused the Orange Order of “pulling a stunt” by attempting to complete its Dumcree parade overnight.

On Monday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin said the Irish Government remained “very, very concerned” about tensions in Drumcree.

Speaking in Cork, Mr Martin said there was an “obligation on everybody now to stand back and to mediate an outcome” in the best interests of the people of Northern Ireland.

The PSNI is maintaining a low-key presence near Drumcree Parish Church where a number of loyal order members stayed overnight in the expectation of completing their march.

On Monday morning, five Orange Order members walked to the police line close to Drumcree Church.

They were told by an officer that they were not permitted to proceed.

But after a member of the public walked along the road, the five members removed their collarettes and walked again to the police line.

After again being stopped, Portadown deputy district master Alastair Power asked the officer to confirm that a member of the public was allowed to walk down the road but his colleagues were not.

Around a mile away, a small number of protesters, some with their faces covered, gathered on the Garvaghy Road.

At the height of the blockade on Sunday, more than a thousand people congregated on the road to prevent the parade from the Drumcree Church from passing along the route.

The mass gathering, which was illegal under parading legislation in Northern Ireland, involved senior Sinn Fein politicians, including Ms O’Neill.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna also attended.

It was organised after Orangemen managed to overturn a long ban on them parading down the road.

The blockade continued through the day and late into the night, as Orangemen assembled at the church waited to commence their parade.

Orange members made several attempts to begin their march, including in the early hours of Monday, but were prevented by police.

The protest on the Garvaghy Road largely dispersed just after midnight after Mr Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition told demonstrators that a process to resolve the stand-off would commence on Monday.

He said the coalition would engage in meetings with Sir Chris and Mr Boutcher.

Under parading legislation in the region, protests against parades must be notified and approved by the Parades Commission.

The blockade on the Garvaghy Road was an unnotified gathering.

Ms O’Neill and other ministers in the Stormont Executive are bound by a pledge of office that contains a commitment to uphold the law.

DUP leader Mr Robinson said politicians who participated in the protest needed to face consequences for their actions.

Ms O’Neill and Ms Hanna have both defended their attendance on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday.

SDLP MP Ms Hanna said she believed the gathering was lawful as there had not been sufficient time to notify the Parades Commission about the protest, and there were provisions in human rights laws that permitted protests.

“I am very comfortable that I acted within the law,” she told reporters at Stormont.

The Northern Ireland Secretary has appealed for calm and urged political and community leaders to reach for compromise.

Sir Chris held talks with political leaders on Sunday night, but no resolution emerged.

A ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Orange Order march from Drumcree Church and along the Garvaghy Road was upheld in an “unprecedented” late-night sitting of the High Court in Belfast in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The Drumcree parade down the Garvaghy Road has been banned since 1998.

The stand-off in the late 1990s led to violent clashes for several summers and political tension necessitating major security operations.

The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.

On Friday, the commission reversed its long-running determination and granted permission for the parade – a decision welcomed by unionist parties and met with outrage from nationalist and republican parties.

Permission was granted for a parade subject to strict restrictions, including a limit of 35 participants and an 8am start time.