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Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant at Hillsborough Castle last week. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA <\/p>\nNorthern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant has revoked permission for the Drumcree parade, which had led to a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown lasting almost two weeks.<\/p>\n
It comes after Northern Ireland\u2019s chief constable Jon Boutcher asked Bryant to review the Parades Commission determination which ruled the controversial Orange Order march at Drumcree could go ahead.<\/p>\n
In a statement confirming he was now banning the parade, Bryant said he had not taken the decision lightly.<\/p>\n
He thanked the Portadown Orangemen \u201cfor their peaceful and law-abiding approach and their co-operation at all points with the PSNI\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cRespect for the rule of law is fundamental to our society and I am grateful to those who have behaved peacefully and legally and sought to ease tensions in their respective communities. Those who have acted unlawfully should face the consequences of their actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am also grateful to all those who took part in good faith in the negotiations at Hillsborough. I heard the concerns of people on all sides and I only regret that we could not reach a compromise on a way forward and that many residents across Portadown have felt anxious and worried.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith this in mind, I call for all protests, rallies and demonstrations to be stood down. There is no excuse for a continued ratcheting up of tensions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant at Hillsborough Castle last week. Photograph: Liam McBurney\/PA <\/p>\n
In a statement on behalf of Sinn F\u00e9in, the party\u2019s president and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill welcomed the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday belongs to the residents of the Garvaghy Road, who have shown remarkable strength and dignity in the face of provocation and intimidation. There will be an enormous sense of relief within the community this evening,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
But DUP leader Gavin Robinson said: \u201cThese decisions are a mistake, and send profound signals that the country should be run on force of numbers and who shouts the loudest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe framework for both parading and protests now lies in tatters and the rule of law has been fundamentally undermined … The PSNI must now pursue the evidence of lawbreaking without fear or favour.\u201d<\/p>\n
The parade, on September 27th, was blocked by protesters on the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road and did not go ahead, and a stand-off between the two sides developed.<\/p>\n
In his statement, Bryant said: \u201cThe chief constable has advised me that it would not be possible to enable the procession to happen without a major intervention which would carry an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion effect across Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the Parades Commission had also advised him that, \u201cwhile ultimately a matter for the courts to determine, the Commission is of the view that, in light of this current assessment by the chief constable, the original determination does not now have enduring legal effect\u201c.<\/p>\n
The PNSI\u2019s chief constable welcomed Bryant\u2019s decision, saying he had asked him to review the matter under section 9 of the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.<\/p>\n
\u201cI outlined in my letter to the Secretary of State that my current assessment was that all available, lawful and proportionate options to facilitate completion of the procession had been exhausted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny remaining options would have required a substantial public order intervention that was not assessed to be proportionate, and which would have carried an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder and a wider contagion affect across Northern Ireland. Further to this, such an operation would in my view have had not only catastrophic long term consequences for trust and confidence in policing, but for the Northern Ireland Executive and the peace process.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also outlined in the letter that mediation and political engagement had not produced a sustainable agreement, and the position of the respective parties had become more entrenched. <\/p>\n
\u201cFinally, I highlighted that the current and continuing costs and impact upon the Police Service of Northern Ireland were significant and in the context of our existing funding challenges could not be sustained indefinitely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Boutcher added: \u201cThis past two weeks has had a marked impact on relationships within and between communities and the police. It is in everyone\u2019s interest that time and space is now created for conversations about finding long term solutions to this complex and sensitive issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
A judgment in the latest court challenge to the Parades Commission\u2019s original determination is due to be delivered at the Court of Appeal in Belfast on Monday.<\/p>\n
Prior to Bryant\u2019s decision, the Orange Order had warned of \u201cserious consequences\u201d if the Northern Secretary stopped the march. <\/p>\n
DUP MP Carla Lockhart said on Friday she expected Bryant would \u201cmost likely allow for the court hearing\u201d and reiterated her concerns that \u201cthe lawful people … seem to be cast to the side, and the lawbreakers are being rewarded\u201d.<\/p>\n
Earlier on Friday it emerged that Northern Ireland\u2019s First Minister, Michelle O\u2019Neill, is to be interviewed by police in relation to her participation in a protest which blocked an Orange march in Portadown.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Friday afternoon, O\u2019Neill \u2013 who is also the Sinn F\u00e9in<\/a> vice-president \u2013 confirmed she had \u201creceived a letter<\/a> inviting me for a police interview in relation to a peaceful protest on the Garvaghy Road.<\/p>\n \u201cI will co-operate with the investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n She said that \u201cfor the last two weeks, I have stood in solidarity with the Garvaghy Road residents as attempts were made to force an unwanted Orange march through their community.<\/p>\n \u201cI will continue to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents who should be allowed to live in peace and free from sectarian intimidation\u201d because \u201cit is always right to stand up for what is right and there can be no going back\u201d.<\/p>\n [\u00a0Who is Chris Bryant, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n Earlier, Sinn F\u00e9in president Mary Lou McDonald<\/a> had told reporters at a press conference on the nationalist Garvaghy Road that she had not received a letter, but expected to.<\/p>\n On Thursday, a senior PSNI officer confirmed the service was issuing letters to those \u201creasonably suspected\u201d of having committed a criminal offence in relation to the ongoing stand-off in Portadown<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Irish Times has seen a copy of one of the letters, which informs the recipient that \u201cit is reasonably suspected that you may have committed offences\u201d linked to the protest against the Orange parade in Portadown, and invites the recipient to a \u201cvoluntary interview under caution\u201d. <\/p>\n Sinn F\u00e9in Senator Conor Murphy<\/a>, and MLAs John O\u2019Dowd (Minister for Finance in the Northern Assembly), Gerry Kelly and Deirdre Hargey have received them. <\/p>\n \u201cThere will be processes now, legal processes, investigative processes that will be under way, and of course, just like every citizen, of course we are subject to the law, and we will co-operate with it,\u201d McDonald said. <\/p>\n She reiterated her party\u2019s call on Northern Secretary to step in to resolve the dispute, saying she had spoken to him on Friday morning \u201curging him again to act\u201d. <\/p>\n People Before Profit<\/a> MLA Gerry Carroll said on Thursday he had been invited by police to attend a voluntary interview under caution in connection with the protest. <\/p>\n It is understood that, as of Friday afternoon, no SDLP<\/a> members had received letters. <\/p>\n SDLP leader Claire Hanna<\/a> told The Irish Times she recognises that she may receive such a letter in the coming days.<\/p>\n A statement said she would \u201calways be accountable for her actions and will engage fully with any policing or judicial process\u201d, but \u201cwhen faced with a choice between standing with the Garvaghy Road community or doing nothing, she is clear that she made the correct decision\u201d.<\/p>\n