Ulster Unionist Party Leader Jon Burrows MLA has called on the current Parades Commissioners to resign following the High Court judgment quashing their determination on the Drumcree parade.

Mr Justice McAlinden said the decision did "not stand up to any scrutiny at all" after the Commission conceded that its final determination had not been properly considered and approved by every commissioner.

Jon Burrows said:

“This was a withering judgment which exposed staggering incompetence in the exercise of an important statutory role. The Commission did not even attempt a defence. It conceded.

“The Commission deliberates on and has the power to restrict fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, assembly and religion. Its members must balance complex human rights considerations carefully, impartially and lawfully.

“This is not about one parade. From sponsored walks to major parades, everyone who comes within this system, of every background and none, is entitled to decisions made competently, fairly and lawfully. Northern Ireland has come a long way in reducing disorder around parading, and that progress rests on confidence in the process.

“Yet the final determination was not properly approved by every commissioner. It was also put to the court that commissioners were encouraged to have regard to the views of an anonymous social media account, and that the local MP's request to make representations was mishandled. If that is the standard of process behind decisions restricting fundamental rights, it is indefensible.

“Mr Justice McAlinden spoke of the need for public administration to face up publicly when shortcuts are taken and sloppy procedures are manifest, so that corrections are made and such conduct does not recur. That is precisely what is required here.

“The Commission now says the substantive decision was properly taken. If so, it must explain why what was issued to the public was not the text its members had approved. That is not a clerical footnote. It goes to whether the reasons given to those affected were the reasons actually agreed.

“It must also now confirm whether this same failure of approval affected any other determination this season or in recent years, on any parade, in any community. The public is entitled to know the scale of this.

“The brethren of Portadown District have pursued their case for twenty-eight years by lawful and peaceful means, and they were entitled to a lawful decision. They did not get one.

“Confidence cannot exist in the current commissioners. They should resign immediately. If they refuse, the Secretary of State must remove them.

“I have written to both the Commission's Chair and the Secretary of State. Procedural changes alone are insufficient. There must be accountability at the top.”