DUP meet minister over city march

The decision to re-route the parade has been criticised

A delegation from the DUP has met NI Security Minister Shaun Woodward to discuss the Parades Commission's ruling on an Orange Order parade in Belfast.

The Order postponed its Whiterock parade in June in protest at putting it through the former Mackies site instead of allowing it through Workman Avenue.

The Order had applied to restage the parade next Saturday, but the commission has again diverted marchers.

DUP MP Nigel Dodds described the talks on Saturday as "intense".

"We left him in no doubt whatsoever about the serious implications of this misguided decision; the impact it will have on community relations and the prospect for any possibility for future dialogue and the fact that it has been seen to reward violence," he said.

Nationalist Springfield Road residents had opposed the parade.

In its determination on the parade the commission cited "a possible adverse effect on community relations" if the march was allowed on the Order's preferred route.

The Parades Commission was set up in 1997 to make decisions on whether or not restrictions should be imposed on controversial parades during Northern Ireland's marching season.