Garvaghy Road investigation to start next week - Robinson

The leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has said he expects the criminal investigation into the unlawful blocking of Garvaghy Road to begin next week.

On Wednesday, the PSNI chief constable said there would be an investigation after protesters blocked the mainly nationalist road to prevent an Orange Order parade from happening.

Protesters remain on Garvaghy Road and the Orange Order has maintained a presence at Drumcree church after talks to end the parading dispute ended without agreement.

Gavin Robinson said there had to be "consequences" for "people who are law makers who are acting as law breakers".

First Minister Michelle O'Neill was among those who attended the protest. She has said she understands the law, but chose to "stand in solidarity" with residents.

Robinson said he expected the investigation to begin next week "but it needs the space to see it conclude as well".

The fallout over the proposed Orange Order march - which is opposed by residents of the Garvaghy Road - has lasted since Sunday morning.

A fresh legal bid by the residents to prevent the march was due to be heard on Friday - but has now been postponed until Monday.

Orangemen and Garvaghy Road residents met Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant at Hillsborough Castle on Thursday night but did not break their deadlock.

Speaking after Thursday night's talks, Sir Chris told reporters: "I think this is the end of these conversations.

"We haven't come to a settled agreement and it's a shame but my door remains open."

Breándan Mac Cionnaith, the chairman of the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition, said there had been no "meeting of minds".

Nigel Dawson, the Orange Order's Portadown district master, said it "remains as it has been".

On Friday morning, about 20 protesters were gathered on the Garvaghy Road.

About a mile away at Drumcree Church, five members of the Orange Order were present.

The rector of Drumcree Church has said that he has received hundreds of "extremely nasty" emails, texts and calls in recent days.

In a post on Facebook, the Reverend Gary Galway said: "Social media has given a platform for individuals to express themselves without restraint, or the integrity of a face-to-face civil discussion."

Hopes of a resolution to the Drumcree dispute have faded but have not disappeared completely.

By engaging in a four-day talks process, the two sides have shown a willingness to try to negotiate an agreement.

Further discussions at some stage are still possible. Some might say they are inevitable.

However, momentum has been lost and the danger is that the problem now just festers for days, months or even years.

That would be bad for community relations and a strain on police resources as they keep a round-the-clock watch on Drumcree hill and the Garvaghy Road.

For all concerned, a difficult road lies ahead.

The stalemate has reopened what was once the most bitter parading dispute in Northern Ireland, with stand-offs in the mid-to-late 1990s accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.

In 1998, the newly-established Parades Commission, which adjudicates on marching disputes, ruled that the Orange Order should not march down the road - a decision that was upheld for the past 28 years.

But last week the Parades Commission decided that the parade could go ahead on Sunday morning with restrictions in place.

That prompted a large protest on the Garvaghy Road, preventing the Orange Order from marching.

Thirteen councillors have been reported to the local government standards watchdog over conduct surrounding the parading dispute.

Some 25 allegations have been received by the Local Government Commissioner for Standards in Northern Ireland in recent days concerning potential breaches of the councillors' code of conduct.

It follows unionist parties accusing nationalist politicians of acting unlawfully over their involvement in the protest at Garvaghy Road on Sunday.

On Friday, former US diplomat Dr Richard Haass told BBC News NI that Northern Ireland had "failed" to come to terms with the legacy of its past.

Haass chaired all-party talks in Northern Ireland in 2013 aimed at resolving contentious issues, including parades.

He said the flare-up of the Drumcree dispute should be "a bit of a warning shot or a wake-up call".

"I don't think any of us should take progress for granted. Backsliding is always possible," he added.

More than 200 people from a Protestant background have put their names to a letter to the UK and Irish governments, expressing concern over the dispute.

In the letter, they said they were distressed by the "trauma that is being visited on the residents of the Garvaghy Road after 28 years of calm".

The signatories said they recognised that parading was a "valued tradition" for many but they appealed to the Orange Order to "look towards the bigger picture and bring this impasse to an end in the interests of the entire community".