Northern Ireland Chief Constable set to face questions amid Drumcree stand-off

Northern Ireland’s Chief Constable Jon Boutcher is to face questions as the Drumcree stand-off continues.

The parading dispute is expected to dominate Mr Boutcher’s monthly appearance at the Northern Ireland Policing Board while talks on the fifth day of the impasse continue elsewhere.

The DUP is expected to propose that Sinn Fein board member Deirdre Hargey be excluded from the meeting after she took part in a protest on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday.

They say Ms Hargey took part in an illegal protest after the Parades Commission ruled that the parade should be allowed along the Garvaghy Road.

The Portadown District Orange Order wants to complete its traditional route for the first time in almost 30 years after the decision by the Parades Commission.

The Garvaghy Road Residents Coalition is opposing the parade.

On Wednesday, after hours of talks around a proposed paper put forward by Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant, Breandan Mac Cionnaith from the residents group said they would back it if the Orange Order did.

Sinn Fein MLA Deirdre Hargey (Liam McBurney/PA).

PA Wire

However DUP Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart told the Press Association in Portadown on Wednesday night that the proposed deal was “not acceptable”.

Talks are expected to continue involving the two sides and a fresh legal challenge by the Garvaghy Road residents is due to be heard in the courts on Friday.

Mr Boutcher met the Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents on Wednesday.

In a statement before those meetings, he warned that “mob rule” must not be allowed to win as he stressed the need to find a peaceful resolution.

Mr Boutcher said he would continue to seek a way to facilitate the Orange Order march down the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road, but made clear he is not prepared to do it at any cost, highlighting his overriding responsibility is keeping people safe.

He also confirmed a large-scale criminal investigation is under way into the mass unlawful protest that blocked the route on Sunday in an attempt to prevent the parade going ahead.