No advice to re-route Orange parades in Glasgow this weekend
More than 30 processions are planned to take place in the city on Saturday, with thousands of people set to march.
In a response to social media rumours, the council posted that any claims police advice, to change the route of marches which will pass Catholic churches, had been ignored were “untrue”.
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Hide AdA spokesman said the public processions committee has not met as the police have not provided any information which would give the council cause to hold a meeting.
The committee previously re-routed marches in 2019 which were set to pass Catholic churches, following concerns from the police.
At the time, police chiefs said there had been a “troubling change” in rhetoric around marches passing St Alphonsus Church, Calton, since a 2018 incident when Canon Tom White was spat on.
Campaign group Call It Out had said it had been informed the council had rejected police advice to re-route some of this weekend’s marches.
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Hide AdIt is planning to “mount peaceful protests” outside two Catholic churches on Saturday, and wants “minor re-routes” of three marches.
The council posted on social media: “We are aware of social media posts suggesting GCC has rejected police advice to reroute processions this weekend.
“It is important to be clear that this is untrue. We’re working in very close partnership with police ahead of the processions and they have offered us no such advice.”
Police Scotland added the force is “committed to supporting the human rights of individuals and groups who wish to assemble, balanced against the rights of the wider community, while ensuring the safety of everyone involved”.
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Hide Ad“We work closely with Glasgow City Council and share appropriate information with them to ensure public safety is maintained during public processions.
“We can confirm that we did not advise the council to re-route any of the processions taking place on 18 September 2021.”
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