Protesters blocking Garvaghy Road ahead of Orange Order march

Hundreds of protesters are blocking a road in Portadown after a contentious Orange Order parade was given late-night clearance to march down it.

Following a series of legal challenges, a ruling by the Parades Commission permitting the Drumcree parade down the mainly nationalist Garvaghy Road was upheld in an "unprecedented" sitting of the High Court in Belfast.

Sínn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and Stormont First Minister Michelle O'Neill have joined protesters, while members of the Orange Order and Democratic Unionist Party politicians have gathered at Drumcree, about a mile away, waiting for the road to clear.

The Drumcree parade, which sparked some of the most serious disorder in Northern Ireland's history, had been given permission to go ahead with restrictions for the first time in almost 30 years.

On a cold and wet Sunday morning, some of the protesters are linking arms and singing songs. Police are monitoring the situation and dozens of armoured vehicles have arrived in the town.

The march was meant to begin no later than 08:00 BST, but police have told the Orange Order that the road is not clear. Members of the Portadown District Lodge are waiting in a hall at Drumcree church.

Michelle O'Neill has questioned the decision making of the Parades Commission and called on the Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to intervene in the parade dispute.

Asked if she thought Stormont could collapse over Drumcree, she said: "The progress of the last 28 years have been brought into question by the actions of the Orange Order and those within political unionism that want to drag us backwards.

"What's the point? What's the point whenever people are going to railroad over their rights?"

Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MP Carla Lockhart said the first minister was "whipping up hysteria" at an unlawful protest.

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

"The law is on our side," she said.

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

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appealed for "calm on all sides", saying there have been "big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don't want to see things go backwards".

A spokesperson for the Irish government said: "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."

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant said he wished "we weren't in this position", as he announced he would return to Belfast from the Labour Party conference in Liverpool.

"I would urge people to co-operate with the police," he said. "I would say that on both sides incidentally."

Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said: "The policing operation thus far has helped ensure there has been no violence or disorder.

"We have an evidence-gathering operation in place to detect any offences and will continue to do this throughout today."

He asked those "with influence" to encourage people to comply with the law and work with the police to keep everyone safe.

Protesters first gathered on the Garvaghy Road in the early hours of Sunday after the final court decision.

Police officers operating checkpoints on the main roads into Portadown reported a steady stream of vehicles arriving into the County Armagh town on Sunday morning.

Drivers were handed an information sheet, which says police will seek to facilitate peaceful protest where possible.

On Friday, the Parades Commission said the march could go ahead along Garvaghy Road.

Rather than start at 13:00 on Sunday as intended, the commission said it could begin no later than 08:00 and with 35 participants rather than the 60 the Orange Order requested.

But an initial legal challenge from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition (GRRC) at the High Court saw a judge issue an injunction banning the parade, with Judge Patricia Smyth saying the "long-running dispute has the potential to escalate within Northern Ireland".

This was later successfully challenged by an Orange Order member at the Court of Appeal.

Late on Saturday evening, the GRRC was given permission to challenge that decision at the High Court - an appeal which was dismissed by Justice Humphreys.

In a hearing concluding at 02:15 BST on Sunday morning, Justice Humphreys acknowledged the "unusual if not unprecedented circumstances... with a parade due to begin in just over six hours' time".

Delivering his judgement, he said: "This court cannot substitute its own view or anyone else's view for that of the commission."

Northern Ireland's most senior judge, Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan, similarly described the situation as "unprecedented".

The Drumcree parade dispute began in the mid-1990s and it almost derailed the peace process at the time.

Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders.

When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995 there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.

The Orange Order is the most prominent of the loyal orders associated with Protestants in Northern Ireland.

The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches.

Its decision not to allow a march down the Garvaghy Road that summer has been challenged by the order - unsuccessfully - over the past three decades.

Last month, the commission's decision was quashed following a legal challenge by a member of the Orange Order.