Stormont MLA Gerry Carroll interviewed by police over Garvaghy Road protest

A Stormont assembly member has said “peaceful protest is a fundamental right” after being interviewed by police investigating alleged criminal offences relating to the Drumcree parading dispute in Portadown.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said he was exercising his “right to free expression and peaceful assembly” by joining protests on the Garvaghy Road earlier this month and denies any criminal offending.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill and a number of Sinn Féin MLAs have received letters from the police regarding their attendance at the same protest.

The nearly two-week stand-off came after a Parades Commission decision to allow an Orange Order parade to complete its traditional route from Drumcree Church down the Garvaghy Road for the first time in almost 30 years.

The parade was ultimately unable to take place because of significant numbers of protesters on the Garvaghy Road, leading Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to overturn the commission’s decision.

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

Speaking outside Musgrave police station after an interview lasting more than 90 minutes, Mr Carroll told reporters: “I was obviously on the Garvaghy Road openly as an elected representative, with residents, standing with them.

“A notice of their protest was given and referenced in open court, and the legal position changed repeatedly overnight.

“Everyone on the road acted peacefully and there was no evidence of violence. I was exercising my right to free expression and peaceful assembly.

“For nearly three decades the Garvaghy Road residents have said no to a sectarian march being forced past their homes, 4,000 residents signed a petition against it.

“And when a community asks for support, that’s exactly what when an elected representative should turn up.

“Peaceful protest is a fundamental right. Every gain working class people have made, from the the suffragettes to civil rights to the right to strike, was done by people willing to defy unjust laws.

“Millions of pounds have been wasted on policing Drumcree, hours were wasted here today, and now more goes on pursuing peaceful protesters.”

He added: “I make no apology for standing with the Garvaghy Road residents, I would do it again in a heartbeat.

“Twenty-one people died in the violence around this parade, I’m proud to stand with a community that refuses to go back to these days.”

Mr Carroll’s solicitor, Jack Murphy of Phoenix Law, said the west Belfast MLA had attended the interview voluntarily and he denies any criminal offending.

“He’s proudly standing with the people of the Garvaghy Road and he continues to do so, and in our contention, that proposition that standing with those people is a criminal offence is quite simply absurd,” he said.

Mr Carroll said they had presented a “robust and strong case” and any charges would be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Mr Murphy added: “The PSNI said their investigation is ongoing.

“We asked them to give us clarity in relation to what’s going to happen next – they don’t know.

“It’s quite clear that the PSNI are still confused in relation to this, their own investigation.”