McDonald and Bacik among opposition leaders urging Andy Burnham to intervene in Drumcree

In a bid to end the Garvaghy Road stand-off in Portadown, a joint letter to British prime minister Andy Burnham from Irish opposition leaders states that his government must intervene to end the "profound distress and anxiety" the march has caused.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill attend a community event in support of the Garvaghy Road residents in the Drumcree parade dispute.

Irish opposition leaders have sent a joint letter to British prime minister Andy Burnham calling for intervention in the Garvaghy Road situation, which has brought "12 days of fear" to the Drumcree community.

The letter urges Mr Burnham to "act swiftly" and to instruct the Northern Ireland secretary of state to use statutory powers to bring the crisis to an end.

"The residents should not be required to remain on vigil around the clock, fearing that community relations and decades of peace and progress could be undone," the letter states.

The letter is signed by Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, Labour's Ivana Bacik, Aontú's Peadar Tóibín, Michael Collins of Independent Ireland, as well as People Before Profit TDs and Independent representatives.

The document also outlines that the decision to allow the march has caused "profound distress and anxiety".

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Meanwhile, police in the North are set to issue letters to people suspected of having committed a criminal offence in the ongoing parading dispute in Portadown.

It relates to alleged breaches of a Parades Commission decision to allow the Orange Order to parade from Drumcree Church down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years.

Orangemen at a police barricade close to Drumcree Church formed to prevent them entering the Garvaghy Road. Picture: Brian Lawless/PA

PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher previously made it clear there would be “consequences” for those found to have broken the law.

Unionists have criticised First Minister Michelle O’Neill and other Sinn Féin ministers in the North's Assembly for having been in the area of the Garvaghy Road during the stand-off.

They have proposed no-confidence motions in Ms O’Neill, as well as finance minister John O’Dowd, economy minister Caoimhe Archibald, and infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins in the Assembly.

“When the law is wrong, I will stand firmly against it," Ms O'Neill said.

A Sinn Féin spokesperson said the party is aware of the PSNI’s latest statement.

“As this is an ongoing investigation, we will not be making any further comment at this time,” the spokesperson said.

PSNI assistant chief constable Davy Beck described police as moving to the next phase of the large-scale criminal investigation.

He said letters would be issued to those suspected of committing offences.

“This team have been methodically working through the evidence collected by police so far during the operation, building this material into evidential packages in respect of identified persons reasonably suspected of committing offences,” he said.

Earlier, the Court of Appeal in Belfast heard a legal challenge to the Parades Commission decision to allow the Orange Order to march along the Garvaghy Road.

Judgement has not yet been given in that case.

On Monday, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan said she hoped the court would deliver judgement in a “swift enough timeframe”.