Files on Drumcree parade suspects to be sent - Boutcher

Files on Drumcree parade suspects to be sent to prosecutors 'within days' - Boutcher

Updated / Thursday, 5 Nov 2026 14:07

Files on suspects accused of criminal offences during a protest that blocked the proposed route of an Orange Order parade along the Garvaghy Road in Portadown will be sent to prosecutors to decide if they will face charges within days, the Chief Constable of the PSNI said.

Jon Boutcher told a meeting of the Northern Ireland Policing Board that detectives investigating the protest had identified 65 suspects and interviewed 23 of them.

He said case files are being prepared before being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for prosecutorial decisions.

Speaking to the media afterwards he said expects the first files to be sent "within days".

Those interviewed include Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald, Michelle O'Neill and other senior party members.

They include two of the party’s members of the Stormont Assembly, Gerry Kelly and Deirdre Hargey, who are also members of the Policing Board and sat facing Mr Boutcher as he spoke during the meeting.

Describing it as one of the most complex the PSNI has faced in recent years, the Chief Constable said the cost of policing the two-week stand-off was £5.5m.

Mr Boutcher said a team of 30 detectives investigating the protest have reviewed more than 70 hours of recorded material from the protest on the day the parade was supposed to take place, Sunday, 27 September.

He rejected a suggestion from a DUP member of the Board that the investigation was taking too long.

"I refute entirely that this is taking very long," he said.

"This is not taking a long time. We’re getting on with this very quickly."

The Chief Constable said he could not say at this stage whether 65 will be the final number of suspects identified for investigation.

Mr Boutcher said a court ruling last month that a decision by Northern Secretary Chris Bryant to ban the parade had been lawful had also vindicated his decision to seek a review of the original decision by the Parades Commission.

"It recognised that all lawful and proportionate options to facilitate the procession had been exhausted and that a major public order intervention would have created an unacceptable risk of serious injury, disorder, and risk of wider harm across Northern Ireland," he said.

The Chief Constable said the court ruling made it clear that the obligation on the police to facilitate peaceful assembly "does not require a lawful procession to be facilitated at any cost".

He also rejected claims by some critics that his request for a review of the original decision to permit the parade had been influenced by the "feelings" of the Provisional IRA or fears about possible violence by dissident republicans.

"To be absolutely clear, our policing operation was not hostage to any threats from any proscribed organisation," he said.

"We operate every day under substantial terrorist threat. It’s nothing new to us."

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