Plans to limit Orange walk policing cost

Friday 29 June 2012

THE Orange Order has been warned police cannot "look after the desires of a small minority" as the Scottish Government says it is considering legislation to limit the cost of parades.

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JAMES WEST

With the issue of marching back on the agenda and just a week to go before the Orange Order's main Scottish parade, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill dropped a heavy hint that ways were being explored to recover costs associated with the marches.

At the Scottish Parliament yesterday, Mr MacAskill expressed his frustration at the need to deploy 1800 officers for a parade by the Apprentice Boys, a sister organisation of the Orange Order, in the aftermath of the terror attack on Glasgow Airport 2007.He revealed he had been in discussions with the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents over the cost of marches, and his officials had spoken with Strathclyde Assistant Chief Constable Bernie Higgins.The controversial issue returned to the agenda after Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson told a hustings of more than 100 Orange Order members that the city's parade's policy was "wrong".A council review is expected to lift restrictions on marches through the city centre and at what time music can be played.Details of Mr Matheson's claims fuelled speculation of bridge-building between Labour and the Orange Order, particularly in the west of Scotland, with an eye on the independence referendum in 2014.It has also led to criticism that the Scottish Government has failed to act on the issue of parades, leaving it solely with local councils.Next week the annual Boyne Celebrations take place in Glasgow, commemorating the victory of Protestant King William of Orange over the Catholic King James in Ireland more than 320 years ago.Last year, Strathclyde cut the number of officers policing the event, with the Orange Order largely providing the stewards. Quizzed by party colleague and Glasgow MSP Humza Yousaf on whether the SNP "needs to think of measures whereby the cost of keeping the public safe does not fall solely onto the police", Mr MacAskill said: "I do accept that there are significant issues here. "I remember being very early into office as we faced the incident at Glasgow Airport. "Some three weeks later we faced the Apprentice Boys march in Glasgow and I can recall some 1800 officers, at a time in Scotland when we were facing challenges from an attempted terrorist atrocity, we were seeing officers deployed upon that. "We have to ensure in terms of the legislation that the Boys' Brigade march or other innocuous matters are not caught when we seek to take action against matters that have huge cost implications."It's a matter that we would accept has huge implications in terms of policing, in terms of cost."It's one in which we are happy to work with local authorities to ensure, as a country, we get the right balance between the right of people to march and demonstrate and the right of communities to be protected and not face significant cost or challenges to their police, who have other things to do as well as simply look after the incidents and desires of a small minority.Afterwards, Mr Yousaf said: "With almost 300 Orange Order parades taking place in Glasgow last year alone, the financial implications for the police, and the potential for disruption to the public and disturbances caused by a small minority who take part on these marches are a real concern."I welcome the Cabinet Secretary's response, particularly his point police forces such as Strathclyde should not be forced to choose between deploying officers to police Orange Order marches and dealing with other incidents, as happened very soon after the terrorist incident at Glasgow Airport in 2007."However, Robert McLean, executive officer of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, said: "Sir John Orr in his Review of Marches and Parades in Scotland said there should be no costs involved for anyone marching in a democratic society. "We live in a democracy and everyone has the right to freedom of speech and no-one should have to pay for that right."

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Plans to limit Orange walk policing cost

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