Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill ‘invited to police interview’ over role in Drumcree protest

Northern Ireland’s First Minister Michelle O’Neill is to be interviewed by police in relation to her participation in a protest which blocked an Orange march in Portadown.In a statement on Friday afternoon, O’Neill – who is also the Sinn Féin vice president – confirmed she had “received a letter inviting me for a police interview in relation to a peaceful protest on the Garvaghy Road.“I will co-operate with the investigation.”She said that “for the last two weeks, I have stood in solidarity with the Garvaghy Road residents as attempts were made to force an unwanted Orange march through their community.READ MORE“I will continue to stand with the Garvaghy Road residents who should be allowed to live in peace and free from sectarian intimidation” because “it is always right to stand up for what is right and there can be no going back”.O’Neill is scheduled to appear as a guest on RTÉ’s The Late Late Show on Friday evening.Earlier, the Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald told reporters at a press conference on the Garvaghy Road that she had not received a letter from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) but O’Neill said both she and McDonald “fully expect to”.On Thursday, a senior PSNI officer confirmed the service was issuing letters to those “reasonably suspected” of having committed a criminal offence in relation to the ongoing stand-off in Portadown, which is now in its 13th day. The Irish Times has seen a copy of one of the letters, which informs the recipient that “it is reasonably suspected that you may have committed offences” linked to the protest against the Orange parade in Portadown, and invited them to a “voluntary interview under caution”. Sinn Féin senator Conor Murphy, and MLAs John O’Dowd – who is Minister for Finance in the Northern Assembly – and Gerry Kelly, have received them. “There will be processes now, legal processes, investigative processes that will be under way, and of course, just like every citizen, of course we are subject to the law, and we will co-operate with it,” McDonald said. She also reiterated her party’s call to the Northern Secretary, Chris Bryant, to step in to resolve the dispute, saying she had spoken to him on Friday morning “urging him again to act”. People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll said on Thursday he had been invited by police to attend a voluntary interview under caution in connection with the protest. It is understood that, as of Friday afternoon, no SDLP members had received letters. O’Neill, McDonald and other Sinn Féin politicians, as well as representatives from the SDLP, People Before Profit and Aontú, were among more than 1,000 protesters who blocked the Garvaghy Road to prevent member of the Orange Order walking along the road – which goes through a nationalist area – from Drumcree church on Sunday, September 27th. It is the first time in 28 years that the march, which in the 1990s sparked serious violence which led to more than 20 deaths, was allowed to proceed by the Parades Commission, the body which rules on applications for marches in Northern Ireland. This decision has been the subject of multiple legal challenges, and the latest judgment is expected in the Court of Appeal next week. The protest was not notified to the Parades Commission, and as an “unnotified” parade it is therefore deemed illegal.Unionist politicians have called for O’Neill and other Sinn Féin politicians to be arrested and prosecuted, and a motion of no confidence in the First Minister was tabled for the Assembly’s sitting on Monday. The stand-off is continuing in Drumcree, with the Orange Order insisting on its right to march, and local residents and supporters insisting it must not go through the nationalist Garvaghy Road. On Friday, about 100 people staged a protest outside the Northern Ireland Office [NIO] in Belfast. Addressing the crowd, Sinn Féin MLA Deirdre Hargey said they were “bringing a message directly to the NIO and British government that there is no going back”, adding that Bryant “has the power to ban this parade and today he must do the right thing and he must ban this parade.”Also visiting the Garvaghy Road on Friday, SDLP MP and former party leader Colum Eastwood urged anyone who received letters from the police “not to worry.” – Additional reporting: PA