Member's statement: Garvaghy Road: Chief Constable and Secretary of State Response
Member's statement by Mr Trevor Clarke on .
- MLA
- Mr Trevor Clarke
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 20 October 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Garvaghy Road: Chief Constable and Secretary of State Response
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5798334
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As the court case regarding the decision of the Chief Constable and Secretary of State to take the course of action that they did is ongoing in the High Court, I will be careful to try not to say anything that would prejudice the outcome. However, when listening to the case in the court, it is hard not to notice what the Chief Constable has put forward as evidence. He talks about the potential of guns coming on to our streets from dissident republicans. That poses questions. First, if the Chief Constable has knowledge about those groups and individuals having access to guns, why did the police not go after the guns beforehand? If they knew that the guns were moved to the area, why were they not intercepted before they were moved into the Garvaghy Road area? Since the Chief Constable and Secretary of State capitulated to the lawlessness of those on the Benches opposite, why did they not go in afterwards? Those are three fundamental questions about the policing operation on the Garvaghy Road that remain unanswered. Indeed, we should all rightly be concerned that the current Chief Constable has done little to nothing to bring to an end the danger that the wider public of Northern Ireland faces from dissident republicans. My colleagues on the Policing Board and I will continue to explore that in the days and weeks in front of us. It is clear — do not let this be lost on anyone — that the parade was lawful and that the Chief Constable and Secretary of State capitulated to lawbreakers and have taken little to no action. Many people have asked, on the airwaves, why the police did not intercept and stop people making their way to the parade. That is a reasonable question that has not been answered. I am clear: we will pursue the matter to every degree that we can to get the answers to the questions that remain unanswered regarding the actions of the Chief Constable. The Chief Constable should have afforded people the lawful right to which they are entitled rather than hiding behind some dissident threat. He needs to come down very hard on that.
367 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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