Statement by TUV Court Councillor Jolene Bunting:
“Last night’s scenes in North Belfast damaged our community and the campaign to get the Orangemen home.
“My thoughts are with those injured.
“However, it is worth reminding everyone of what the Parades Commission said in their latest decision. They noted that there was no public disorder related to the July 2014 parade which was conducted “peacefully and lawfully and was well marshalled”. It also noted that the nightly and weekly parades have been well marshalled and have not resulted in public disorder or violence. Yet they said they reached their decision because of a high possibility of public disorder.
“We cannot have a body which takes the issue of who can cause the most trouble into consideration when making a decision. This sent out the completely wrong message.
“It’s also worth remembering that there was much grand talk of a “graduated response” last year. People were assured that politicians would act. They didn’t and as weeks turned to months and still nothing happened my party made the decision to walk away from something which had become a farce.
“The people of North Belfast and the wider Unionist community were badly let down by those who failed to deliver a response last year.”