The appointment of two Orangemen to the Parades Commission, which rules on contentious Orange parades in Northern Ireland, was challenged in the High Court in Belfast today.

A massive protest march in Belfast, which was held after the Orange Order postponed today’s contentious parade, passed off peacefully.

The bitter six-year stand off over the annual Orange Order parade at Drumcree could be resolved within weeks, the local Orange lodge said today as marchers backed away from a confrontation with security forces.

The British government will be making a grave mistake if it were to abolish the Northern Ireland Parades Commission, nationalists warned tonight.