Bryant says he will ‘not jump to conclusions’ on letter from Parades Commission
Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant has said he will not “jump to conclusions” about the future of the Parades Commission after receiving a letter about how the body intends to restore public confidence in its work.
The commission, which adjudicates on contentious parades in Northern Ireland, was heavily criticised by unionist politicians and the Orange Order following a High Court ruling which quashed its determination over the Drumcree parade in Portadown.
Following the court hearing, Sir Chris has given the commission until 5pm on Friday to provide him with written assurances that it has a “credible plan to enhance public confidence across all communities”.
The Northern Ireland Secretary confirmed he had now received the letter and would study it over the weekend.
A court hearing earlier this week heard that the commission’s decision to place restrictions on this year’s Orange Order July march at Drumcree had not been considered in its “final form” by all members of the commission.
High Court judge Mr Justice McAlinden referred to “errors”, “short cuts”, and “sloppy procedures” in the approach of the commission to making its determination.
The Parades Commission has blocked the order from marching along the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown in July every year since 1998.
Some unionist politicians have called for the resignation of the commissioners following the High Court ruling.
One commissioner, Billy Gamble, who had attracted criticism, resigned from his post on Thursday.
Sir Chris told UTV: “I want to be absolutely clear that the the whole point of the commission is that it has to have the confidence of all the communities in Northern Ireland.
“I don’t want us to revert to the situation we had 28 years ago. Nobody wants that.
“There are roughly 4,000 parades every year in Northern Ireland, and a tiny proportion these days, maybe five in 100, are contentious in any way.
“So, I’m definitely not pulling the whole thing down. I want to look at the letter that I’ve had from the commission.”
He added: “I’m going to read the document. I want to make sure that there is a credible plan to make sure that the commission has the confidence of all the different communities.
“But I’m not going to jump to conclusions before I’ve even read the document. I’m going to look at that over the weekend.”
Sir Chris said Mr Gamble had done “absolutely the right thing” by resigning from the commission.
He said: “We really need to have a commission.
“We need to make sure it’s able to do its work properly, and that it acts impartially and without any bias whatsoever, and that it has the confidence of everybody.”
The stand-off at Drumcree made headlines in the 1990s with nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road resolutely opposed to the parade passing through the area, leading to violent clashes for several summers and political tensions necessitating a major security operation.
The Orange Order has unsuccessfully applied for more than a quarter of a century to complete its 1998 walk along its traditional route.
The order has indicated it will be making a fresh application for a Drumcree march following the court ruling.
In a statement on Friday, Portadown District said it is “ready and willing to engage in mediation – either directly or through representatives we authorise – without any pre-conditions”.
Sinn Fein councillor Catherine Nelson said discussions were possible, but not about a parade down the Garvaghy Road.