Drumcree: Dissidents may have mounted gun attacks on Garvaghy Road, court hears

Dissident republicans may have mounted gun attacks on police had officers cleared a path for an Orange parade on the Garvaghy Road, the High Court has heard.

The court has begun hearing a legal challenge against the secretary of state's decision to ban the Drumcree parade on security advice.

A lawyer for the Orange Order member bringing the case told the court about the contents of Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) intelligence material.

The court also heard another element of that assessment - that loyalist paramilitaries were "depicting signs of frustration".

Reading from intelligence material, the lawyer for the Orange Order stated it was "almost certain" that dissidents were among protesters and it was "possible" they had access to firearms.

It is "possible" the guns could have been used to attack police, he added.

The lawyer further stated that petrol bombs may have been used in disorder which would have followed police removing protesters.

"There is reliable intelligence indicating that mainstream republicans are concerned about their ability to prevent disorder or control dissident republicans," he added.

He referenced there being nine intelligence documents, including one called "feelings of PIRA".

A lawyer for Boutcher said the PSNI assessment was that all "lawful and proportionate options" to facilitate the parade had been "exhausted".

Any attempt to police it "would have involved substantial public order intervention".

He said Boutcher believed this would have carried an "unacceptable risk" of serious and prolonged disorder, with "a wider contagion effect".

The request for Sir Chris to intervene had been based on operational policing considerations and is "devoid of any public law wrong".

The lawyer said: "He (Boutcher) was putting the situation in the Secretary of State's hands."

He said Boutcher, when pointing out the consequences for Stormont and the peace process, had been making an "observation".

"No-one is saying he woke up one morning and imagined all these potential consequences.

"These are real life consequences everybody was thinking of."

A lawyer for Sir Chris later introduced another element of the police intelligence assessment.

He told the court that it was "highly likely" that increasing numbers of loyalists would attend the Portadown area.

The intelligence stated "disorder at Drumcree Church remained a possibility".

The lawyer added: "Both sides were converging on the area."

Monday's legal challenge was originally scheduled for last week , but was delayed after the Orange Order added the chief constable to the case.

The case is being brought by a Portadown Orangeman against Sir Chris and Chief Constable Jon Boutcher.

Sir Chris' intervention ended a two-week stand-off after the parade route on Garvaghy Road was blocked by protesters.

Boutcher has said the parade could have caused serious disorder, with "catastrophic" consequences for Stormont and the peace process.

The applicant has alleged Boutcher had taken into account "wholly political" considerations, which were "immaterial" to policing decisions.

It is claimed these invalidated his advice and "infected" the secretary of state's decision and Sir Chris showed "scatter gun decision-making" and had "misdirected himself".

It is also alleged he made "a fundamental error" in giving equal weight to a lawful parade and an unlawful protest.

At the outset of the hearing, Mr Justice Scoffield told the court that he would reach a "swift" decision either later this week or next.

Legal saga: Where are we and how did we get here?

The latest flare-up of the Drumcree dispute has been full of legal challenges, involving the Parades Commission, Orange Order and Garvaghy Road residents.

Earlier this year, the Parades Commission banned the Drumcree parade from entering the Garvaghy Road - a move which reflected every decision it has made since 1998.

Then, following a legal challenge brought by a member of the Orange Order, a High Court quashed that decision in August and a parades commissioner resigned .

This opened the door for a fresh application to march, which the Parades Commission granted on September 25 - albeit with restrictions.

Then came the night of eleventh hour drama.

On the eve of the march, September 25, there was a flurry of last minute legal chaos, with residents initially securing an injunction from the High Court, which was then overturned by the Court of Appeal just before midnight .

Permission for the parade was reinstated.

However, due to residents' protests, which were not sanctioned, the 35 Orangemen permitted to march were unable to do so.

An almost two week-long stand-off commenced between protesters on the Garvaghy Road and members of the Orange Order and their supporters camped one-mile away at Drumcree Church.

On 27 September the High Court refused residents leave to apply for a judicial review.

As talks to resolve the situation struggled along, on September 29 lawyers for the residents issued a fresh legal bid to try to prevent the march from going ahead .

On 5 October the Court of Appeal reserved judgment on the residents' appeal against the High Court's refusal of a judicial review.

On 10 October, after Sir Chris stepped in "in best interests of peace" , the Orange Order appealed for a judicial review against the state's decision to ban the parade , which a High Court judge said did not constitute an emergency case.

Then on 12 October, the Garvaghy Road residents failed in a bid to challenge the Parades Commission's decision to allow the Drumcree parade to go ahead.

The Court of Appeal said their ruling was confined to the lawfulness of the decision - it was not deciding whether or not the march should occur.

Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said it was decided before Sir Chris banned the march on Friday.

On the same day, the Portadown Orangemen successfully added PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher - which takes us to where we are today.

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