A LOYALIST procession through Glasgow on Easter Sunday has been cancelled after the council insisted it be re-routed away from a Catholic church where a priest was spat on last year.
Canon Tom White was assaulted by Bradley Wallace, 24, outside St Alphonsus’ Church on London Road during the annual Orange Order Boyne march last July.
Sunday’s parade, organised by The Apprentice Boys of Derry, was scheduled to pass the same spot. Glasgow City Council, however, ordered that the route be changed.
Scottish Protestants Against Discrimination (Spad) subsequently announced that a demonstration would be held outside of the city chambers on April 27 to protest the creation of a so-called “no-go area” for Protestants. A Rangers fan group, The Vanguard Bears, yesterday announced its intention to join the demonstration.
The council later revealed that the Easter Sunday march would be cancelled altogether as a result of the enforced reroute.
Glasgow City Council procession officer, Gordon Fulton, said: “It can now be confirmed that as a consequence of the adjudication by the Processions Committee, and the imposed re-route, the procession by the organisation has been withdrawn and thereby indicated that the parade will not take place.”
The council committee were informed by Superintendent John McBride that Police Scotland had received highly graded intelligence that counter protests were being planned for the march. McBride said officer numbers would consequently have to be boosted from 20 to more than 100.
The committee examined more than 80 submissions raising concerns about the procession, including one which expressed fears for personal safety.
Arguing that the route had been used for a decade without incident, the Apprentice Boys requested an afternoon meeting to arrange legal representation. It was rejected, with the council highlighting that the potential for increased religious activity on Easter Sunday could pose further risks.
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