Lords to hear Holy Cross appeal

Amid tight security, children were escorted to Holy Cross school

The House of Lords is to hear an appeal about the policing of the loyalist protests at Holy Cross Girls' School in north Belfast in 2001.

The High Court and the Court of Appeal have already rejected claims by the mother of a pupil at the school.

The mother's solicitors claim documents show the RUC viewed the children's journey to school as a contentious parade, and policed it accordingly.

The case is expected to be heard by the House of Lords later this year.

A three-month protest by loyalist residents at an interface near the school in 2001 saw pupils being escorted to the school by the security forces on a daily basis.

The dispute, which began in June that year, centred on alleged attacks on Glenbryn homes by the larger nationalist community in Ardoyne.

It was eventually resolved in November 2001 after local Protestant residents were promised social improvements and new security measures.