O'Loan cites parades 'ambiguity'

Nuala O'Loan said maps of routes should be provided

The Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, has said an ambiguous ruling by the Parades Commission was to blame for a breach during a march in Lurgan two years ago.

Mrs O'Loan upheld a complaint against the police after a Black Preceptory parade passed along a route the commission believed it had disallowed.

However, Mrs O'Loan blamed the commission for the mix-up.

She said the government-appointed body should produce detailed route maps of parades to avoid such ambiguity.

Sinn Fein and the SDLP complained about the police handling of the parade.

It is the Parades Commission's contention that the only direction the march was permitted to proceed was in an easterly direction - however the determination did not say this Police Ombudsman

Police said they were forced to change the route after the driver of a car refused to move it from an area cordoned-off for marchers.

Mrs O'Loan said her investigators believed the officer in charge had acted in good faith and understood how there could be more than one reading of the Parades Commission's determination.

In addition, she also upheld a complaint that about 100 loyalists were allowed to block the main street in Lurgan.

Mrs O'Loan said: "The reality is that the determination that they issued was ambiguous.

"There was a little area of the route which the parade wanted to walk on which isn't actually covered by the ruling specifically.

"And for that reason the police officer made the decision he made, he just put the parade in the direction of the flow of traffic, that wasn't what the commission intended, therefore there was a breach."

In the absence of a detailed map, she recommended that police check with the commission if the PSNI's interpretation of a determination was correct and liaise with the loyal order and residents to ensure all sides understood the ruling.

Mrs O'Loan also recommended that police should secure contentious turn points for marches and remove any vehicles causing an obstruction.