Jamie Bryson tells unionists to exhaust police budget with protests

UNIONIST street agitator Jamie Bryson is encouraging the Orange Order and its unionist party allies to break the PSNI financially as the Chief Constable warns that huge budget cuts will damage frontline policing and tackling crime – in unionist as well as nationalist areas.

The Orange Order is organising up to 18 demonstrations across the North in a joint enterprise with unionist party and loyalist paramilitary leaders after the Parades Commission banned the return leg of a Twelfth march on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast.

PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton says that £51million budget cuts over the next six months will have drastic implications for policing. These cuts will come on top of the cost of policing the Twaddell unionist protest camp – £40,000 every night.

Jamie Bryson tweeted enthusiastically on Thursday:

“If PSNI budget was gradually used up policing peaceful protests eventually they would run out of money. That is the ace card. Play it.”

How the conservative ‘law and order’ elements of the mainstream unionist parties explain this to their crime-hit constituents in the wake of police cuts remains to be seen.

◼︎ Belfast Sinn Féin MLA Gerry Kelly (pictured) has said that what the North needs is fewer parades, not more.

He said the Orange Order plan can only heighten tensions.

“It is part of a unionist effort to undermine the Parades Commission and put pressure on the British Secretary of State to reward intransigence,” the north Belfast Assembly member said.

“Clearly, the DUP, Orange Order and their allies in negative unionism – which includes loyalist paramilitary groups – are more concerned about one parade than entering into genuine negotiations to resolve the outstanding issues around parades, flags and the past.

“In the past, when unionist leaders have called people out on to the streets we have seen a descent into street violence.”