Ulster Unionist Party Chair Lord Tom Elliott has welcomed today's High Court judgment in the Drumcree parading challenge, describing it as a vindication of Portadown District LOL No. 1 after twenty-eight years of peaceful and lawful campaigning.

Lord Elliott said:

“Today the High Court has quashed the Parades Commission's determination, and in doing so has vindicated what the men of Portadown District LOL No. 1 have said patiently and lawfully for more than a quarter of a century.

“For twenty-eight years these brethren were told to wait, and told their case was closed. Through it all they did not lift a hand and they did not walk away. Week after week they returned to Drumcree Hill and made their case with dignity. That is steadfast resolve, and today it has been answered.

“Let me be clear what this is, it is a finding that a public body must act lawfully and must weigh the rights of Orangemen in the same measure as everyone else's. That is equality before the law, and it should not have taken a court to secure it.

“As a member of the Loyal Orders, I know what this day means to Portadown and to families who carried this for a lifetime, some of whom did not live to see it. I would ask that today be marked by the same quiet dignity the District has shown throughout, and that all parties now approach what follows in good faith.

“To the officers and members of Portadown District: your vindication is deserved.”