Orange Order Adds Northern Ireland Police Chief to Drumcree Case

The legal challenge against Northern Ireland's ban on the Drumcree parade has been expanded to include Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher, prompting Belfast's High Court to postpone the hearing until October 19. The Portadown Orangemen are seeking to overturn Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Sir Chris Bryant's decision to prohibit the procession after receiving police advice that it could trigger serious disorder. At a short hearing on Monday, the High Court heard that Boutcher was added as a respondent to the proceedings at 17:30 BST on Sunday.

Peter Coll KC, representing the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), requested additional time to prepare for the expanded legal challenge. Mr Justice Scoffield allocated a full day for the judicial review application and said he had balanced the requirements for efficiency and expedition. The case is now scheduled to proceed on October 19.

Lawyers representing the Portadown Orangeman argue that the police assessment underpinning the ban was flawed. Their legal submission stated: "Given the immaterial considerations which vitiated the PSNI assessment, it follows that the same error infected the secretary of state's decision."

Richard McConkey KC, representing the Portadown Orangeman, acknowledged that adding the chief constable would affect the timetable. "We are seeking to include the chief constable as a second respondent (but) it will have a knock-on effect on the hearing date," McConkey said. Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson, acting as a legal adviser for the Portadown District Lodge, explained that the chief constable had been included because the secretary of state relied on his assessment.

Speaking outside the court, Bryson said: "The chief constable has decided he can't police this. We say he hasn't made any efforts to police it."

Boutcher had advised Sir Chris Bryant that allowing the procession to proceed could result in serious disorder, with potentially catastrophic consequences for Stormont and the peace process. The chief constable said proportionate policing options had been exhausted and that an operation to clear the route could have "catastrophic" consequences. The parade, involving 35 members of Portadown District Orange Lodge, was scheduled for September 27. However, an unlawful protest blocked the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road, triggering a two-week standoff that prevented the procession from taking place.

According to the PSNI, policing the standoff cost approximately £5 million, largely because of officer overtime. The dispute has generated separate legal proceedings involving the Orange Order and residents opposed to the parade. In a separate case, the Court of Appeal is due to rule on whether the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition can challenge the Parades Commission's original decision authorizing the procession.

Although Sir Chris Bryant subsequently prohibited the march, he did not overturn the commission's determination, which remains in force. Lawyers for the residents' group argued that the commission's decision was flawed in its assessment of the potential for disorder if the parade went ahead. The Court of Appeal heard arguments in the case last week, with a ruling expected on Monday.