Portadown standoff continues as protesters block Orange Order march

A standoff over the Drumcree parade continued in Portadown, County Armagh, as hundreds of protesters blocked a road to stop an Orange Order march.

The march had been authorised for the first time in almost 30 years. The Drumcree parade is due to pass through the Garvaghy Road, a mainly Irish nationalist area. Most residents there do not want the unionist organisation to march in the area. Police played a message over and over asking people to disperse, but neither that nor heavy rain stopped the protest. The Prime Minister appealed for calm.

Northern Ireland's first minister attended the protest. She said the plan for a parade brought into question the way the peace process works. She said: "We're about building on our peace and progress We're about not allowing people to bring us back in our eyes are very much focused on the future."

Her presence was condemned as unlawful by the Democratic Unionist Party, which shares power with Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland's devolved government. The DUP said: "The people at home know how difficult this is. They have somebody who calls herself a first minister for all breaking the law today breaking the law Prepared to give a two-fingered salute to the rule of law and order in this country."

The dispute returned to the streets after the Parades Commission, which regulates marches in Northern Ireland, made a procedural error. The restrictions it imposed on the parade were quashed in the High Court. It then announced that, for the first time in nearly 30 years, a parade could pass down the Garvaghy Road. After 14 hours of court action yesterday, that decision was upheld.

At 8am, when the march was due to begin, Orange men were told by police that the road was not clear. Hours later, they were still waiting at Drumcree Church, about a mile from the protesters. In the 1990s, the Drumcree dispute sparked some of the most serious disorder in Northern Ireland's history and threatened to derail the peace process. The Northern Ireland secretary called for calm, saying: "I say to every single politician of whatever background, please please please moderate your language moderate every single thing you do and think about The impact your words have on anybody else."

The protest on the Garvaghy Road continued more than eight hours after the march was due to pass. A heavy police presence remained. Protesters said they were prepared to stay as long as it takes. There was no immediate sign of how the standoff would be resolved.