AN Orange marching band has expelled one of its members after trouble at this weekend’s annual Boyne parade through Glasgow.
The move came shortly after videos emerged of a woman being jostled and spat at during the annual event.
Leading Orangemen - who had already re-routed the parade to avoid a flashpoint east end Catholic Church - said they would not tolerate “unacceptable behaviour”.
The Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, which organises what is the biggest event of the marching season, said: “We have already contacted one band from the parade on Saturday and that has led to the expulsion of at least one member."
It added: “Looking ahead, we will continue to work with relevant authorities, but also seek to build on the positive steps we have taken with senior members of the Catholic Church in Scotland to work together on shared solutions where all religions show mutual respect and tolerance.”
READ MORE: Eight people arrested at biggest Orange parade of year
The Grand Lodge had re-routed the march in response to carefully worded comments from Leo Cushley, the Archbishop of Edinburgh and St Andrews, who said he had no problems with Orange parades passing Catholic Churches “if it is done respectfully”.
The march this weekend was diverted away from St Alphonsus Church in the East End, where Canon Tom White was spat on last year during the same parade.
READ MORE: Loyalist march cancelled after re-route away from Catholic church
Canon White himself made a private statement on Tuesday accusing local and national authorities, including the police, of “seeming blind” to what he called anti-Catholic bigotry.
He said: “There is a systemic failure at national and local level in ensuring the safety of all citizens, and particularly the minority Catholic group, during the Loyal Order marching season.”
READ MORE: Orange Walk marchers sure council
The cleric had suggested authorities had failed in their statutory duties, a claim that was condemned by Glasgow City Council.
A spokesman said: “The city was, rightly, disgusted by the attack on Canon White a year ago and we should all condemn threatening and abusive behaviour.
"However, it is simply incorrect to say that the council has the legal power to do what it is being asked to do.
"It is also important to be clear that our statutory obligations are broader and considerably more complex than is suggested here.”
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Glasgow said: “Canon White’s concerns are shared by many people of all faiths and none. The thuggish scenes at last weekend’s marches were shameful. It is for the Police and city council to act promptly and firmly to ensure such scenes are not repeated.”
Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins said: "Public safety is a priority for Police Scotland and we also respect the right to assembly.
"The decision to amend the route, the timing or prohibit any procession is a matter for the relevant local authority.
"However, Police Scotland is committed to assisting councils to make an informed decision by making appropriate representations on notifications which could potentially significantly risk public safety, disorder, damage to property or disruption to the life of the community.
"In advance of any procession, a comprehensive and appropriate policing and traffic management plan will be put in place to ensure the safety of those taking part, anyone taking part in a lawful counter demonstration and to minimise the potential for disruption to the local community.
"We will work closely with councils, the organisers and other stakeholders to facilitate a procession and any counter demonstration safely. Police Scotland is happy to engage with any organisation or member of the public to discuss our policing of these events.
"Retrospective enquiries are underway regarding certain aspects of this weekend's events. As with any operational activity, Police Scotland will review its policing plan to establish what learning can be taken from this deployment."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel