Sinn Fein assemblyman Gerry Kelly has been awarded £4,000 in settlement of a claim against the police arising from trouble at a parade nearly four years ago.

Mr Kelly, elected to represent the North Belfast area in the Stormont assembly, was granted an out of court settlement, his lawyer told a court in Belfast.

The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) also agreed to pay Mr Kelly's legal costs.

His claim for compensation alleged that he had been falsely arrested and assaulted by RUC officers during a protest against the annual Tour of the North Orange parade in Belfast on 21 June 1996.

Mr Kelly said he had just been elected a member of the Northern Ireland Forum and went to the Antrim Road where nationalist residents were staging a sit-down protest.

He was arrested and handcuffed but he slipped his cuffs and escaped, leading to him being called "Houdini".

'I was an observer'

Outside the court Mr Kelly said: "I was asked to go over as an observer.

"I wasn't in the crowd, I was standing 10-15 yards away when the RUC surged forward and basically jumped me.

"They pulled me to the ground, handcuffed me, tore the sleeve off my coat, put me in a jeep and assaulted me.

"When I made a complaint the RUC retaliated by charging me with assault."

The case against Mr Kelly was later withdrawn. He said the settlement vindicated his position.

Nationalist areas

He also spoke of the approach of this year's marching season and another set of Tour of the North demonstrations by the Orange Order, which take members through nationalist areas of north Belfast.

"I would argue that there has to be dialogue between local residents and the Orange Order," said Mr Kelly.

"But our position has always been that we support the local residents."