Burrows and Allister say Parades Commission board must be sacked en masse by Chris Bryant
The leaders of the UUP and TUV have each also called for Chris Bryant to sack the Parades Commissioners en masse, with the latter also calling for an external review to be set up into how the body operates.
TUV leader Jim Allister called the chairwoman’s interview with the BBC this morning a “car crash”, and has penned a letter to the secretary of state setting out his concerns.
UUP leader Jon Burrows said that Sir Chris forcing the commissioners out now looks “unavoidable”.
Mr Allister said in his letter to Sir Chris: “You have rightly identified public confidence as imperative to the operation of the Parades Commission.
“Equally obvious is the absence of such across the unionist community.
“Likewise, it is clear that self-serving affirmations of even-handedness will not secure such confidence.
“The position of the commission is irretrievable. Its probity is gone!”
He went on to add: “With the commission having failed to exercise its functions lawfully and with the imperative of public confidence irretrievably gone, you, I suggest – in the absence of voluntary resignation – must exercise your powers under Sch 1 paragraph 3(4) of the Public Processions Act 1998 to remove the commissioners…
“Additionally, I trust you will be curious, as many observers are, as to whether the ‘shoddiness’ exposed in this case is the standard practice of how the commission has been discharging its public law duties.
“I therefore urge you to establish a credible external review of the operations of the commission.”
Mr Burrows told the News Letter: “The chair's answer this morning tells its own story.
“A public body that has conceded it acted unlawfully has been given the opportunity to show it understands the seriousness of that, and it has declined.
“Confidence in the Parades Commission cannot be restored by the people who forfeited it.
“If the commissioners will not go, the secretary of state must remove them.
“That is now unavoidable and in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland.”