High Court upholds Northern Ireland secretary’s Drumcree parade ban

A High Court judge has upheld Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant’s decision to ban the Drumcree parade, rejecting a Portadown Orangeman’s legal challenge. The ruling leaves the ban in place after a stand-off between Orangemen and residents of the Garvaghy Road that lasted almost two weeks.

The judicial review challenged Bryant’s decision of 9 October and also named Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher. Bryant had intervened after receiving security advice from Boutcher.

Mr Justice Scoffield said the secretary of state’s decision was lawful and within the discretion available to him. He called it “highly regrettable” that the circumstances had made a ban necessary, and said opponents of the march should “take no particular joy” in the ruling.

The judge said the dispute had imposed significant costs on Northern Ireland, including diverted police resources and damage to community relations. He also said the threat of serious and widespread disorder had “loomed large” and that concerns had been raised about respect for the rule of law, including over elected representatives’ participation in an unnotified protest.

Before the ban, Boutcher told Bryant that the police had exhausted lawful and proportionate options for facilitating the procession. He warned that any remaining option would require a major public-order operation and carried an unacceptable risk of serious injury and disorder.

A lawyer for the Orangeman said an appeal against the judgment was “likely”. Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister said the ruling did not remove Portadown District’s right to march and warned it risked “more of the same”. Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey said defending residents had been the right thing to do, while acknowledging that recent events had set community relations back.

The latest legal challenge followed a dispute that began with a planned march on 27 September. The Parades Commission had allowed the parade to proceed with restrictions, but protesters blocked the Garvaghy Road and the procession did not take place. The ensuing stand-off lasted almost two weeks; the BBC reports that daily protests had since dissipated, with activity largely shifting to the courts.