Drumcree Parade

BBC ONE West and ITV1 reported a standoff in Portadown, County Armagh, over the Drumcree parade. Protesters blocked the Garvaghy Road to stop a Loyalist Orange Order march through a mainly Irish nationalist area. BBC ONE West said hundreds of protesters were involved. Police warned that organising or taking part in the protest was an offence liable to arrest and prosecution. The Orange Order members waited at Drumcree Church after police told them the road was not clear. The parade had received legal approval. ITV1 said the High Court in Belfast gave the go-ahead hours before the parade was due to begin. BBC ONE West said approval followed court hearings the previous day, with the latest finishing at 2am that morning. Both channels said 35 Orange Order members had permission to take part. BBC ONE West described it as the first authorised march there in almost 30 years, while ITV1 said such a march had not taken place for 28 years. ITV1 reported the parade was meant to start at 8am and finish by 9:30am, but did not proceed. BBC ONE West reported the Prime Minister appealed for calm and the Northern Ireland Secretary called for all politicians to moderate their language. The First Minister, who BBC ONE West said was present, said an Orange march imposed against the community's wishes would not be tolerated and questioned how the peace process works. ITV1 reported the First Minister said Garvaghy Road residents deserved to live free from sectarian harassment and intimidation, that no right-minded person would make this decision, and asked why the Parades Commission thought bringing the dispute back was right. BBC ONE West reported unionists accused Sinn Fein of whipping up hysteria and said the Orange Order must be allowed to march and would abide by the law. ITV1 reported the Northern Ireland Secretary of State flew in from his party conference for urgent talks with political parties, amid questions over whether Stormont could survive. Police tried to broker an agreement, with no sign of a breakthrough. BBC ONE West said police were monitoring protesters who had been blocking the road since the previous night and would stay as long as needed. ITV1 said extra police officers drafted from Scotland were on standby to support the PSNI. Both channels noted that the Drumcree dispute was associated with serious rioting in the 1990s.

This is a cross-channel consensus summary, not an objective account. Consensus can be uniformly wrong, or omit what only one channel covered.