Darran Marshall
in Portadown

Image source, Getty Images

A large security operation is under way across Portadown.

Many roads are closed in the town.

A short time ago the DUP's Carla Lockhart and Jonathan Buckley held a press conferences at the opposite end of the Garvaghy Road to protesters.

Hundreds of supporters stood in heavy rain as they spoke. Others took shelter under a bridge.

Meanwhile police are operating a sterile zone under the town's railway bridge which crosses over the Garvaghy Road, to keep the two sides apart.

Image source, Getty Images

Even the broadest umbrellas and most tightly pulled hoods are struggling to keep heads dry in Portadown now, on what is a miserable morning weather-wise.

Protestors on the Garvaghy Road say they shall not be moved.

A mile away, outside Drumcree Church on rural outskirts of town, Orangemen and their supporters remain steadfast that the parade will go ahead.

On both sides, the rain continues to come down.

Fiona Murray
BBC News NI

As it stands, the person with the power to intervene in this impasse is Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant.

He's cutting short his attendance at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool to travel back to Belfast.

Sir Chris could order that the march cannot go ahead - but he can only intervene if asked to by Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) Chief Constable Jon Boutcher on the basis that it would prevent serious public disorder.

And Sir Chris has told the BBC that the head of Northern Ireland's police hasn't asked him to do that yet.

Meanwhile, the situation on the Garvaghy Road hasn't changed.

Orangemen await further instruction from the police to indicate when the road is clear for them to march. Protesters continue to block the route of the parade and say they're going nowhere.

And the rain continues to fall over Drumcree Church.

Image source, PA

The deputy leader of the Alliance Party, Eóin Tennyson, says people are in "utter despair that this is where we are as a society this morning".

The Alliance Party is the third biggest party in Northern Ireland and does not consider itself as either nationalist or unionist.

"Reopening the Pandora’s box of Drumcree has only caused huge hurt and has raised tensions to a level not seen in years." says Tennyson.

"We cannot relive the past. We must be capable of learning from it and finding a way to move forward together.

"Our utmost priority must be the safety of all concerned. I am again appealing for calm, restraint and cool heads on all sides."

Image source, PA

Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) chief constable Jon Boutcher says the police operation so far has "helped ensure there has been no violence or disorder".

"I'm unbelievably proud of my officers who, supported by mutual aid colleagues, are managing an exceptionally challenging situation," he says.

"We have an evidence gathering operation in place to detect any offences and will continue to do this throughout today."I appeal to everyone to remain calm and peaceful. I am immensely grateful for all those voices who have already called for calm."

He urges everyone "with influence to encourage people to comply with the law" and says the police are engaging "with all parties".

"It is incumbent on us all to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland."

On Friday evening, the PSNI said it had activated "mutual aid arrangements", with it being understood 200 officers were arriving from Scotland to help with policing this morning.

Image source, Reuters

Breandán Mac Cionnaith from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Association says the only thing the community can do to stop the march is to "keep mobilising".

"We have made it clear through petitions to the Parades Commission and others this community never wanted this march.

"That was ignored."

He says the protest will last "as long as it takes".

Image source, Getty Images

We understand there's to be a DUP press conference in Portadown shortly but, in the meantime, we have a statement from party leader Gavin Robinson.

Echoing other unionist voices we've heard this morning, he's calling on First Minister Michelle O'Neill "to uphold lawful decisions, not inflame opposition to them".

“The legal position is now unequivocal - 35 Orangemen can walk in silence along Garvaghy Road.

"The Court of Appeal found that the injunction had been granted in error, and the High Court subsequently confirmed that the Parades Commission determination must be respected."

Robinson says "the rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Fein likes the outcome", and commends "the Orangemen of Portadown" who he says "have conducted themselves with dignity and respect for the rule of law for 28 years".

You can watch all the latest from Drumcree and Garvaghy Road on Sunday Politics Northern Ireland right now.

There's reaction from Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant, who's at the Labour Party conference, as well as analysis from BBC News NI political editor Enda McClafferty.

Watch on BBC One NI as well as on the iPlayer.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's the latest this morning:

• The Orange Order was due to set off on its march from Drumcree Church, which would take it down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown, at 08:00
• However the parade has not set off yet and is delayed - the Garvaghy Road has been blocked by hundreds of protesters, while Orangemen who have gathered at Drumcree, a mile from the road, have said they will wait until police advise them the road is clear
• Police have called on protesters to disperse but there is no indication that will happen
• Sinn Féin leaders, including First Minister Michelle O'Neill, are among the protesters at Garvaghy Road, with O'Neill saying the dispute "brings into question how the peace process works"
• However Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart has criticised O'Neill for "whipping up hysteria"

• Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant is travelling back to Belfast from the Labour Party conference, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appealed for calm

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant says he's cutting short his attendance at the Labour Party conference to return to Northern Ireland, adding that he's taking the situation "very, very seriously".

He says a court decided that the Parades Commission determination stood, adding that "it's important that everybody abides by the law".

Speaking to BBC News NI at the conference in Liverpool, he urges calm and says any protest is "unlawful" and police have "made that clear to people".

"I would urge people to cooperate with the police. I would say that on both sides incidentally."

He says it's "primarily a policing matter" and he can only act if asked to by the chief constable and he "hasn't asked me to do so".

Image source, Getty Images

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill, who is among the protesters on Garvaghy Road, says the reignition of the Drumcree dispute “brings into question how this whole peace process works”.

Some in the crowd blocking the Garvaghy Road this morning have been heard shouting “bring Stormont down” while O'Neill says there are those in "Orange Order and those within political unionism that want to drag us backwards".

Stormont - Northern Ireland's devolved government - has existed for almost 30 years as a power-sharing arrangement between the largest nationalist and unionist parties. It has collapsed several times over the decades when one side or the other has withdrawn from government.

The last time it happened was February 2022 with it taking about two years before the institutions were up and running again.

Asked if the power-sharing could collapse, O'Neill says: “You heard it about the people’s view of Stormont. You heard it about the terms of politics working for them, and you hear it here time and time again and we’ve certainly heard it over the last 24 hours.

“What’s the point? What’s the point whenever people are going to railroad over their rights? Whenever they’re going to try to roll back in 28 years of progress?

“But I can tell you what we’re about. We’re about the future. We’re about building on our peace and progress. We’re about not allowing people to bring us back.”

Michael Fitzpatrick
on the Garvaghy Road

A large crowd is still on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown with protesters linking arms.

People who are standing along the side of the road are being urged to move to the centre of the crowd.

The People Before Profit (PBP) assembly member, Gerry Carroll, has joined other politicians at the gathering.

The Orange Order are still at a hall at Drumcree Church, about a mile from the road, awaiting further instruction from the police. The parade was due to set off almost two hours ago.

The Prime Minister says he has spoken to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Bryant this morning and Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin yesterday.

"I know it's a tense situation and we appeal for calm on all sides," Andy Burnham tells Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.

"There have been big gains made in Northern Ireland and we don't want to see things go backwards."

The leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), Northern Ireland's second largest nationalist party, Claire Hanna has also arrived on the Garvaghy Road in Portadown.

In a social media post on X, she says she's “standing in solidarity with local residents”.

“Allowing this parade to proceed violates the rights of people who live here. They must see sense and stop it.”

The story of today's march is mainly taking place across two locations in Portadown - the Garvaghy Road, where protesters have blocked the road; and Drumcree Church, a mile to the west, where Orangemen and supporters have gathered for the march to get under way.

Unionist politicians and campaigners are also at the church, with one activist - Jamie Bryson - heavily criticising the "so-called first minister for all" for "illegally blocking" the road.

Bryson says "there are now serious questions for Sinn Féin about their commitment to the law".

Jonathan Buckley, of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), says "the court had its say" and "the law shall prevail".

"For 28 years, Sinn Féin and Garvaghy Road residents have told Portadown district (Orange Order) and the wider unionist community that the Parades Commission has reached its determination, people should abide by the law," he says.

Chris Page
Ireland correspondent on the Garvaghy Road

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein are in the power-sharing devolved government at Stormont.

They are the two biggest parties; in effect they run Northern Ireland together.

But this issue has certainly laid bare the political divisions that still exist here; Sinn Féin and the DUP see this issue in completely different terms.

Northern Ireland is still a place where symbols, territory and identity really matter.

There's really no meeting of minds on this - save for First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly both calling for calm.

We have a statement now from the Irish government, saying it has been following court proceedings in Belfast overnight.

It adds: "The government is monitoring the situation on the ground closely and will remain in contact with key interlocutors, including the Garvaghy Road residents.

"The government is very concerned about the situation.

"Our primary concern remains to avoid a return to the divisions of the past, recalling the significant progress made over many years in furthering reconciliation under the Good Friday Agreement."

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart says First Minister Michelle O'Neill is "whipping up hysteria" at an unlawful protest.

She calls O'Neill's comments "outrageous" and the protesters a "rabble".

O'Neill, Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and other nationalist politicians are currently part of the protest blocking the Garvaghy Road.

"The law is on our side," Lockhart, MP for the Portadown area, says.

"They're afraid of 35 men, walking down a road silently."