It comes as the Northern Ireland Secretary is travelling to Belfast to speak directly with political leaders

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Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appealed for calm on all sides amid plans for an Orange Order parade to pass through a predominantly nationalist area of Northern Ireland for the first time in decades.

Thousands of protesters blocked the Garvaghy Road in Portadown in a bid to prevent the parade of Orangemen passing, following an overnight court ruling in Belfast which said the march could go ahead.

The Drumcree parade, which was associated with violent clashes during the Troubles, has been banned since 1998.

Amid the community tensions, the Prime Minister told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg there have been “big gains made in Northern Ireland, and we don’t want to see things go backwards”.

“I know it’s a tense situation. We do appeal for calm on all sides,” he told the programme.

The Prime Minister added: “So, obviously, a challenging situation today, but it’s very important that we work to bring calm.”

Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant meanwhile said he was cutting his time at Labour’s party conference in Liverpool short to travel to Belfast and speak directly with leaders there.

Sir Chris also told the BBC he wished “we weren’t in this position”, adding: “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.”

First minister of Northern Ireland, and Sinn Féin vice-president, Michelle O’Neill said the reignition of the Drumcree dispute “brings into question how this whole peace process works”.

She spoke from the Garvaghy Road alongside protesters who had gathered to block the parade.

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Ms O’Neill added: “The progress of the last 28 years have been brought into question by the actions of the Orange Order and those within political unionism that want to drag us backwards, and I think that brings into question – you heard it here today.

“You heard it about the people’s view of Stormont. You heard it about the terms of politics working for them, and you hear it here time and time again and we’ve certainly heard it over the last 24 hours.

“What’s the point? What’s the point whenever people are going to railroad over their rights? Whenever they’re going to try to roll back in 28 years of progress?”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson meanwhile said Ms O’Neill should “uphold lawful decisions, not inflame opposition to them”.

Mr Robinson said: “The legal position is now unequivocal. Thirty-five Orangemen can walk in silence along Garvaghy Road. The Court of Appeal found that the injunction had been granted in error, and the High Court subsequently confirmed that the Parades Commission determination must be respected.”

He added: “A First Minister’s duty is to uphold lawful decisions, not inflame opposition to them. The rule of law cannot apply only when Sinn Féin likes the outcome. Our institutions are founded on respect for the police, the courts and the rule of law.

“The Orangemen of Portadown have conducted themselves with dignity and respect for the rule of law for 28 years and once again have demonstrated their maturity today.”

Follow our live blog for the latest updates on this developing situation on Garvaghy Road.

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR

Published: 09:33 BST, 27 September 2026 | Updated: 12:39 BST, 27 September 2026

Andy Burnham fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow expansion today, just weeks after his Chancellor backed it.

The Prime Minister repeatedly refused to endorse the scheme to build a third runway at the airport in an interview as Labour conference got under way. 

He suggested it was a matter ‘for London‘ and that the Government was waiting for the outcome of a consultation.

But John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that the Government supports the project.

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The PM has a record of attacks on the proposal going back years. In January last year, when he was still mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham labelled the expansion as a ‘model for an ever-overheating UK economy‘, warning it could not come at the ‘expense of essential investment in northern infrastructure’.

Andy Burnham fuelled fresh doubts about the Heathrow expansion today, just weeks after his Chancellor backed it

Bosses at the airport are seeking to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway

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In 2018 he said: ‘I’m against a third runway at Heathrow because of the need to limit national levels of aviation. We should use spare capacity at Manchester and Birmingham instead.’

The following year he warned that the expansion would ‘trap infrastructure spending inside the M25 for ten years’. 

Heathrow Airport Limited wants to obtain permission to build a full-length, 3,500-metre runway, which would require moving the M25 motorway.

Former chancellor Rachel Reeves said in June that she was determined to get ‘spades in the ground’ for the third runway in the current Parliament and aimed to finish the project by 2035.

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However, there are now suggestions that 2039 is likely to be the earliest possible year for completion.

Asked on the BBC whether he supported the project, Mr Burnham said: ‘Principally, it’s a matter for London and Londoners.’

Pressed further, he continued: ‘It’s not right for me to just jump straight in on the back of the consultation.

‘I think it’s right that we hear what people have said through the consultation, and then then consider the way forward from there.’

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The plans to expand the UK’s largest airport have long been opposed by climate experts and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.

John Healey told the Commons earlier this month that the government has given the go-ahead for the project because it will help to ‘bring growth’

But Heathrow insists the project will create jobs, unlock growth and make travel more affordable.

Mr Healey told MPs earlier this month: ‘After years of delay, years of indecision, years of often vexatious challenge, we have given the go-ahead to this project quite simply because the economic case stacks up and will help bring growth.’

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A public consultation on the government’s Heathrow expansion national policy statement closed on September 1. 

A Heathrow spokesman said: ‘We agree with the Prime Minister that local voices must be heard. 

‘We know from consistent polling over the last decade that communities support our plans for expansion, and support is only growing over time. 

‘But critically, expanding Heathrow is a national project which will create jobs and boost growth in every part of the country. 

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‘That’s why it is supported by trade unions, business groups, airports and communities across the UK and why we need to crack on with delivering it as quickly as possible.’ 

Terror police have been pictured arresting five men after a suspected car bomb plot against US forces at RAF Fairford.

The group was found with three vans – suspected to have contained bombs – and were filmed during their arrests as they sat shirtless while handcuffed, indicating officers may also have suspected they were wearing suicide vests.

RAF Fairford, in Gloucestershire, is the US Air Force’s command outpost for operations from Europe and has been used for American strikes on Iranian missile sites that have been attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

The base was the subject of a warning from Iran‘s Revolutionary Guard in July, with the regime warning Britain not to allow US bombers to fly from the base.

Counter-terrorism police are understood to be leading the investigation into the incident amid suspicions a potential attack may have been foiled, while experts are investigating the devices to understand whether they were viable explosives. 

Footage, taken by a resident of nearby Whelford at 2.10am today, shows the men in cuffs with a bright light shining in their faces, while another picture shows the three vans they are suspected to have used.

Residents were evacuated from the nearby Cotswolds countryside as armed police and the SAS swooped in while the Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team searched for more bombs.

A Government spokesman said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was being ‘kept updated’ from Liverpool, where the Labour Party conference is getting under way today. 

The men are suspected of using three vans, also seen in this morning’s footage as vehicle bombs and, because they were shirtless during their arrest, are suspected of wearing suicide vests

The group was rounded up and put in hadcuffs sat on the road as security bosses sent in Army bomb experts and the SAS to tackle the threat

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Armed police around the village of Whelford, near RAF Fairford this morning

The incident will raise fresh questions over the thorny decisions to be made on defence by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his Chancellor John Healey at the Budget next month.

Mr Burnham’s predecessor Keir Starmer initially refused to permit US bombers to use British bases after the outbreak of the Iran war in February, drawing the ire of President Donald Trump, who said the former Labour leader was ‘no Winston Churchill’.

Sir Keir soon relented and gave the US permission in March for the ‘specific and limited defensive purpose’ of destroying Iranian missiles ‘at source’.

RAF Fairford has reportedly been put on Delta alert, the highest threat level used by Washington’s Department of Defense.

Meanwhile security has been tightened at other US bases in the UK, with reports that RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk has been placed on Charlie alert, the second-highest threat level.

A Lakenheath spokesperson told the Daily Mail: ‘We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures are implemented or modified. 

‘Please be assured that the Tri-Base area (RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, and RAF Feltwell) remains vigilant and will take appropriate action to ensure the safety and security of US service members, US and UK civilians, contractors, and their families.’

The resident who pictured the group’s arrest told this publication: ‘I was asleep and was woken up by shouting coming from outside.

‘I couldn’t tell what was being shouted but as I got nearer the window, I could see the road was being lit up by blue flashing lights from police vehicles.

‘On one side of the road, officers had five men lined up. They all had their shirts removed.

‘They were instructed to sit down. They were patted down by the officers and then had their shoes and socks removed.

‘I think they must have been there for about half an hour. The suspects were then told to get up and were walked round the corner.

‘I lost sight of them after that but I presumed they were put in police vans and led away. This all happened just outside the perimeter of RAF Fairford.

‘The police are investigating three work vans parked a few hundred yards from my house. We’ve not been told much, we were just asked to evacuate our homes early this morning.’

Road blocks and armed police have been in place near the base in recent days and emergency vehicles are parked nearby.

A witness said armed police had blocked access to the base’s main gate and around 30 police cars, ambulances and fire engines were in the village of Fairford.

Earlier a vehicle, apparently a tractor, was pictured blocking a gate at the base.

Armed police at RAF Fairford this morning. Officers blocked entrances to the air base, which is operated by the US Air Force

Officers also evacuated nearby homes, with residents taken to a nearby leisure centre

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A B-1B Lancer bomber pictured at the air base, which has been used to mount US strikes against Iran since the US-led war began

Emergency services vehicles including fire engines descended on Whelford as the major incident was investigated

Counter-terror police are leading the investigation amid suspicion an active terror plot may have been foiled

Gloucestershire Police said earlier: ‘A number of properties are currently being evacuated in the Whelford area following the declaration of a major incident.

‘It follows the arrest of several men on suspicion of offences under the explosives act.

‘The Army’s specialist explosive ordnance disposal team are currently examining a number of vehicles. The local residents are being evacuated to a nearby leisure centre.

‘A cordon is currently in place but we’d like to reassure people that we believe this incident is contained.

‘We are working closely with our partners and are enacting the well-rehearsed plans we have in place.’

A US Air Force spokesman said: ‘The 501st Combat Support Wing and our fellow UK-based Wings remain vigilant and will take appropriate actions to ensure the safety and security of our US service members, civilians, contractors, and their families.

‘We constantly assess a variety of factors that determine what measures we institute or modify to protect our installations, our people and their families.’

A vehicle which appeared to be a tractor blocked a gate at RAF Fairford this morning

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said of the incident: ‘We can be reassured that this is being dealt with.’ 

In June, the US government said it would spend around $500million (£377million) on ‘expansion and military infrastructure’ at the base, understood to include a new hangar complex.

A month earlier the Royal International Air Tattoo, set to be held at the base in July, was cancelled after the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises (RAFCTE) said the ‘escalating geopolitical situation in the Middle East’ had required a ‘significant increase in real-world operational missions’ from RAF Fairford.

RAFCTE said both the Royal and US air forces needed to ‘maintain unrestricted, 24/7 operational readiness at the base’.

Shortly after the US and Israel began the war with Iran on February 28, roads surrounding RAF Fairford were closed in a bid to ‘address safety and access issues’.

Protective screens were mounted on the base’s perimeter fences in March to stop filming after it became popular with plane spotters when US bombers began arriving.

That month US military personnel at the base were pictured preparing explosives at the base as Washington intensified strikes on Iran.

“This is completely false. Do not fall for misinformation or react.”

A DUP MP has urged people “not to fall for misinformation” regarding “bands” and loyalists gathering at Drumcree.

Thousands of protesters have blocked the predominantly nationalist Garvaghy Road in Portadown in a bid to prevent a contentious Orange Order parade passing.

A ruling by the Parades Commission adjudication body permitting the march from Drumcree Church was upheld in an “unprecedented” late-night sitting of the High Court in Belfast just a few hours earlier.

The Drumcree parade, which was associated with violent clashes during the Troubles, has been banned since 1998.

Protesters, many of them wearing balaclavas, clustered in large groups in heavy rain along the road on Sunday morning – a move that delayed the scheduled 8am start of the parade. Sinn Féin leaders were among those gathered on the road.

Posting on social media, DUP MP Carla Lockhart said she has been “made aware of false information” stating that “bands and loyalists are converging” in response to the blockade on the Garvaghy Road.

She added: “This is completely false. We believe this is deliberate misinformation being pushed by nefarious Republican sources in an attempt to goad young people into a confrontation.

“Do not fall for misinformation or react. The law is on our side and we are upholding it peacefully.

“We are still standing with the 35 brethren for a peaceful resolution and upholding of the determination for Portadown Orange District LOL 1 to complete their parade.”

First Minister, and Sinn Féin vice-president, Michelle O’Neill said the reignition of the Drumcree dispute “brings into question how this whole peace process works”.

Party president Mary Lou McDonald called on Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant to intervene to ban the parade. She said the people of the Garvaghy Road would “not be drawn back to the past”.

The group of Orangemen due to take part in the parade waited at nearby Drumcree Church, having assembled early on Sunday.

Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher appealed to “those with influence to encourage people to comply with the law” as he his officers would detect any offences throughout the day.

He added: “It is incumbent on us all to come together at times like this to do all we can to preserve a peaceful Northern Ireland.”

Follow our live blog for the latest updates on this developing situation on Garvaghy Road.

A dog walker needed hospital treatment for wounds to his arms and police are carrying out house to house enquiries

Police have issued an appeal after a dog walker was bitten after being approached by a pack of three dogs in Maesteg early on Saturday morning.

The local man was walking his dog on a path near Railway Terrace in Caerau, Maesteg, when three reportedly off-lead dogs approached him and bit him, resulting in serious injuries. WalesOnline understands the victim attended his local hospital’s emergency department with wounds to his arms.

Police say their investigation into the incident remains ongoing and that officers are conducting door to door enquiries in the area to identify those responsible.

A police spokesperson said: “South Wales Police received a report just before 7.05am yesterday morning, Saturday September 26, that a man had been walking on a path near Railway Terrace, Caerau, Maesteg, when three dogs approached him and one of the dogs bit him.

“Enquiries are ongoing, including house-to-house enquiries and the review of any available CCTV footage. Officers are working to establish the full circumstances of the incident and identify those involved.”