Member's statement: Parades Commission Determination: Policing
Member's statement by Mr Trevor Clarke on .
- MLA
- Mr Trevor Clarke
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 12 October 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Parades Commission Determination: Policing
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5785779
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I will bring us back from the parallel universe that we have just heard about. Police officers are expected to exercise their duties without fear or favour, and the same should apply to the Chief Constable. Clearly, however, on this occasion, he has disregarded that. The Chief Constable has questions to answer. What did Jon Boutcher mean when he said that policing the commission's lawful determination would have had "catastrophic long-term consequences"? Where were those consequences coming from? Where were the threats coming from? Jon Boutcher has been less than clear on that. He also needs to spell out exactly what evidence he used for his assessment and what contact he had with senior politicians from different political parties. For my part, my party leader and I met the Chief Constable. We did not threaten the Chief Constable or insinuate that there were any consequences for anything in Northern Ireland; we just sought answers from the Chief Constable on how he was going to police the legal determination and the lawful right of the Portadown district. What did he mean by that, what representation was made by political parties, and, of course, what threats were made? What were those potential threats? From whom did they come? What intelligence was there? The spokesperson for the Garvaghy Road residents said that he had confiscated some petrol bombs and would confiscate more. Did he get them all? Were there weapons on the Garvaghy Road? How serious were those consequences for the Chief Constable to come to the determination that he did? Of course, we can draw a parallel between another part of his statement and the situation faced by the two officers on the Ormeau Road who acted without fear or favour. The then Chief Constable threw them under the bus because of the actions and threats of Sinn Féin, only for us to find out in the courts that he had indulged himself in the political arena. It is clear that, on this occasion, the current Chief Constable has done the same. He has talked about these institutions, but, with respect to him and all his colleagues, these institutions are not part of his role in the determination. His role in the determination was about getting that lawful parade down the road. The consequences or otherwise for this place are none of his business, but he needs to tell us who was threatening these institutions. I am very clear: my party leader and our delegation made no such threats to the Chief Constable.
421 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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