Sinn Fein councillors to be questioned over alleged parade ruling breaches

Two Sinn Féin councillors are the latest representatives from the party to have been questioned by police over alleged parade ruling breaches.

Craigavon councillor Catherine Nelson and Belfast councillor Conor McKay attended voluntary interviews at Musgrave Police Station in the Northern Ireland capital on Friday morning.

Sinn Féin president Mary-Lou McDonald, First Minister Michelle O’Neill, Finance Minister John O’Dowd and People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll are among a slew of elected representatives to speak to police investigating potential breaches of a Parades Commission determination.

It comes after large crowds turned out on the Garvaghy Road after the commission permitted the Drumcree Orange Order parade along the mainly nationalist road for the first time in almost 30 years.

Speaking before her interview, Ms Nelson said she was “very proud to have stood with the residents of the Garvaghy Road”.

“I, along with Conor, are here this morning in a voluntary capacity as a result of our attendance at a peaceful protest on the Garvaghy Road,” she said.

“I am very proud to have stood with the residents of the Garvaghy Road, a strong people, a resilient people and a peaceful people, and standing as part of that peaceful protest was the right thing to do.”

She added: “There are those within political unionism who can answer for themselves, intent on bringing us backwards.

“We’ve been very clear throughout all of this that there can be no going back to the days of fear, of intimidation, of supremacy, so we stood with residents to ensure an unwanted Orange march was not forced through the heart of their community.”