Garvaghy Road LIVE: PM calls for ‘calm on all sides’ as thousands block Orange Order march

Sir Chris Bryant said he wished “we weren’t in this position”, as an Orange Order parade is set to go ahead for the first time in decades in a predominantly nationalist area of Northern Ireland.

Speaking to the BBC, the Northern Ireland Secretary said: “I can imagine that lots of people didn’t sleep very well last night, not least because of course the court case was going on till very late into the night, till 2.30 in the morning.

“I know lots of people will be watching this very, very closely, including people who have long memories of things that happened 30 years ago, and people will be very nervous and anxious.

“So the number one thing I think is people should co-operate with the police. I want everything to pass off as calmly as is possible. I’m speaking to the police obviously on a regular basis throughout the day, and was last night as well, and so is my team.”

He added: “I wish we weren’t in this position. I wish we weren’t looking at relitigating things of the past. But the court decided that the adjudication, the determination of the Parades Commission stood. So it’s important that everybody abides by the law.”

Sir Chris later said he would be leaving Labour’s conference in Liverpool for Belfast on Sunday, telling the BBC: “I’m going to be going back to Belfast this afternoon. I was expecting to be doing things here, but I think most people would expect me to be in Belfast, and that’s where I’ll be.”