Sinn Féin and DUP clash over Drumcree parade dispute

Orange men gather near Drumcree Church as police form a barricade to prevent them entering the Garvaghy Road, where members of the Orange Order were due to take part in the first return parade on the road for almost 30 years. Photo: Peter Morrison/PA Wire

    Update 5pm: Assembly Members clashed in Stormont on Monday over the Drumcree parade on Garvaghy Road.

Speaker Edwin Poots began proceedings by calling for members not to engage in a way which “inflames tensions”, but on several occasions he had to call the Assembly to order.

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly accused First Minister Michelle O’Neill of breaking the law and encouraging others to do so.

Speaking in the Northern Ireland Assembly, the DUP MLA said there was a “total abdication of leadership”.