Inverness
There has been a major backlash against the event online - but it's highly unlikely to stop it from taking place.
ByStuart Findlay
Around 300 loyalists will march through Inverness on Saturday despite a petition calling for the event to be cancelled gathering more than 5,000 signatures.
Highland Council announced the closure of several city streets to accommodate the march on April 20, provoking a backlash.
The furore prompted the petition which quickly gathered pace on social media.
That wave of opposition created the impression that Inverness would soon follow Stonehaven’s lead, where a similar march was blocked by local councillors.
But it hasn’t worked out like that.
And with only a short time to go before the Inverness march is due to begin, it now appears too late for anything to change.
What is different about the Inverness march?
The Inverness march has been organised by the Apprentice Boys of Derry, rather than the Orange Order.
Although both groups share a number of similarities – they both have roots in Northern Ireland and are focused on celebrating historical victories for Protestants – they are separate.
That isn’t a key issue when it comes to determining whether or not their march should go ahead, however.
One major difference is that the event in Stonehaven was the first of its kind in the area.
By contrast, Saturday in Inverness will be the 13th time since 2008 that the Apprentice Boys of Derry have held an event in the city.
You may have also noticed that Highland Council has said it has received no objections to the event taking place.
That seems odd when more than 5,000 people have signed a petition calling for it to be stopped.
But the council is referring to its procedure for consulting the public on whether or not an event should take place.
The deadline to object to the Apprentice Boys of Derry’s plans was on February 5.
That’s a full two months before the issue caught fire when it emerged because of the street closure announcement.
Could the Inverness march have been stopped if there was more time?
It’s certainly possible – but not guaranteed.
Had a raft of objections arrived in the council’s inbox before February 5 the issue would have been given a lot more scrutiny.
In Stonehaven, there was enough time for a motion to be lodged by a councillor.
Its fate was then determined by a local committee.
And even after that happened, there was still a legal challenge from the Orange Order which ultimately failed.
According to a statement from Highland Council’s senior licensing officer, the road to banning the march would still be a tricky one.
He said: “The law does not allow the council to prevent marches and parades from taking place. Unless the risk to public safety outweighs the presumption of freedom of expression.”
But that assessment has been rejected by former Highland prosecutor Roderick Urquhart.
‘There is no right to march in Scots law’
Mr Urquhart, one of the north’s most respected, experienced and knowledgeable lawyers, signed the petition to prevent the Inverness march and said the council’s position is an “over-simplification”.
“A council can lawfully prohibit a march if its holding will result in ‘disruption of the life of the community’,” he said.
“There is no right to march in Scots law. And this sort of thing is totally alien to Highland culture.”
Mr Urquhart believes some of the confusion is arising from a section of the European Convention on Human Rights which states that everyone has the right to “freedom of peaceful assembly”.
With enough time, his view is that a legal challenge to prevent a similar march next year would stand a great chance of being successful.
What are others in Inverness saying about the Apprentice Boys of Derry march?
Inverness city leader Ian Brown said he’d had a lot of messages from people about the upcoming march – and none were positive.
But he pointed out that a risk assessment has been carried out and the police have been involved in discussions about public safety.
Councillor Brown said: “This has taken on a higher profile because of what happened in Stonehaven.
“But whether you like this or not, it has been in Inverness for years now. And there has been no trouble.”
Depute city leader Chris Ballance takes a different view, saying there should be no place for it in Inverness.
“I don’t think an organisation like the Apprentice Boys of Derry has any place in the Highlands at all,” he said.
“This sort of sectarianism doesn’t belong on our streets. It’s very unwelcome.
“Unfortunately, the petition has come too late to stop it now.”
The Apprentice Boys of Derry group has dismissed criticism of its plans.
It said the parade was “simply members of the association commemorating and celebrating their history and culture”.
General secretary William Moore added: “The people who describe the parade as a hate march really need to reflect on their own level of tolerance and respect for other cultures and traditions.”
A Highland Council spokesman said the local authority had not received any information to “give grounds to prohibit the parade”.
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