Orde confident of 'peaceful marching season'

Northern Ireland’s chief constable expressed optimism today that the summer marching season would pass off peacefully.

Speaking ahead of the annual July 12 Orange Parades, he said the marching season so far had gone “extremely well”.

Hugh Orde said: “I am optimistic. You have to be optimistic, just look at what has gone on so far.

“Drumcree was very peaceful, the Whiterock parade went very well. I am looking forward hopefully, to a quiet week next week.”.

Mr Orde told a meeting of the Policing Board in Belfast that the improved situation was not just a reflection of the substantial efforts of police but of the “commitment of the community and in particular those who have interacted between groups".

But he hit out at the dangers of rumours which he said gripped Northern Ireland at this time of year.

He cited the case of an incident at the Mater Hospital in north Belfast after an Orange parade last month which resulted in local paper headlines about loyalists rioting in the hospital, terrifying staff and patients and complaints of a slow police response.

Mr Orde used video footage from hospital security cameras both outside and inside the reception to refute the allegations.

“It was not a riot,” insisted the Chief Constable. “There was a large number of people milling around – I think they were trying to use the toilets in the hospital – and their behaviour has not been deemed illegal”.

He accepted that staff were concerned about the large volume of people, but said it was not a riot and did not merit the headlines which followed.

The video footage played to the Policing Board showed the whole incident was over in five minutes and that police had arrived within two to three minutes of the crowd arriving outside the hospital.

“The video showed how uneventful it actually was, against perceptions portrayed following this event.”

Turning to the loyalist flying of flags during the marching season, Mr Orde said he was pleased to see far less paramilitary flags and more national flags this year.

Police were removing paramilitary flags where it was considered appropriate, he said, but the solution to the flags issues was a community one, he said.

Provoking people with flags was not a sensible way forward, he said, and was against all the current trends towards a more peaceful marching season, he added.

He revealed an investigation had been mounted following complaints yesterday that the mother of an SDLP politician in Larne, Co Antrim had been threatened with death by known UDA men when they put a flag up outside her home.

Mr Orde said a senior officer would be discussing the incident with the SDLP leader Mark Durkan and his party colleague Danny O’Connor and his mother.

But he said the flag in question had been a union flag and not a paramilitary flag which could be removed under anti-terrorist legislation.

However he said other alleged offences were being investigated relating to the incident.

In his monthly report to the Board the chief constable revealed that there had been 38 significant threats against police involving 160 officers in the past year.

Loyalists had been behind 13 and republicans 25 – dissident republicans responsible for 23 of the 25.

A total of five officers had been forced to move home since the start of January and five more applications to move were being processed. That compared with 43 moves in 2003 and 128 in 2002.

He said it was still “far too high” and a situation unique to police in Northern Ireland, but the downward trend was “slightly more positive”.

The Chief Constable also reported the PSNI clear-up rate for murder and manslaughter in the year so far was 85.7% against 67% in the pervious year and that burglaries in the last three months were down 16% and car crime down 32%.

But he expressed concern at the large rise in drink driving detections – 726 in the last 12 months against 486 in the previous year.