THE Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland has called for a special parade to be held later in the year to thank the Conservative Government for "everything they have done for us during this terrible time".

In a statement, Jim McHarg gave a "warm tribute" to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK Government for "their strong leadership" through the coronavirus pandemic.

He said that they had stepped forward with a package of financial support "that is beyond anything we have ever seen before" and suggested that such action should be met with an event to show thanks for their response to the crisis.

McHarg said: "As a Union of nations, the Chancellor has ensured that the support measures he has introduced is there to support all parts of the UK. We remain grateful to be part of the United Kingdom and able to access this invaluable help and support.

"At an appropriate time in the future, we hope to have an event/parade in Glasgow for all of Scotland’s loyal orders, where we can all come together and show our support to the UK Government for everything they have done for us during this terrible time.

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"It will be a time to thank them, and the many other services, like our NHS workers and the thousands of others who are still working as hard as ever to keep the nation going.

"We hope this parade will be able to go ahead in September, and we will start to consult with the other loyal orders in Scotland to plan this."

The Grand Master also confirmed that the outbreak had forced the cancellation of the annual Boyne Celebration parades.

He had already last month called on all lodge meetings, function and social gatherings to be suspended until further notice under coronavirus guidelines.

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He said: "Whilst I know this is disappointing news, I can assure you that the decision was not taken lightly. This follows extensive discussions between our County Grand Masters and Executives, and with our colleagues in England and Northern Ireland.

"The advice from the UK Government was foremost in our mind and it is clear that there is likely to be continued social distancing in place for many months to come.

"We also recognise the strain that the current pandemic is having on essential services and acknowledge that they will need some time to recover as we slowly come out the other side of the virus lockdown measures.

"Therefore, this year’s Boyne Parades will be held over until next year. Indeed, it is safe to say that there won’t be any Orange Parades until August at the earliest.

"This means the host venues we had hoped to visit this year, will now move forward to 2021. These venues are Ayr, Dalkeith, Glasgow Green and Holytown."

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