Speculation BBC is set to ditch live coverage of Orange Order’s Belfast Twelfth parade

The speculation emerged this morning in the Belfast Telegraph, who reported that the BBC was last night unable to confirm if its live coverage - which has been broadcast for decades - would happen again this year.

TUV leader Jim Allister told the newspaper that ditching live coverage of the Belfast Twelfth parade would be “in line with the anti-unionist tendency that exists within BBC NI”.

The broadcaster told the Belfast Telegraph that a decision has yet to be reached on this year’s coverage.

The development comes after outcry from unionist quarters over the BBC’s broadcasting of the recent Northern Ireland centenary parade.

The BBC’s coverage of the massive event was largely limited to short segments on the Northern Irish news.