The Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Bill will receive royal assent "as quickly as possible" after passing its final stage in the House of Lords yesterday. The Bill will be passed into law well in advance of disputed parades during the marching season.
Amendments include a requirement for the organisers of demonstrations to provide the RUC with 14 days' notice of their protest. Unionists and the SDLP criticised the proposal, saying parades and demonstrations against them would be dealt with by separate bodies.
The Bill was described recently by the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, as "the most serious and substantial assault on the civil rights of the people of Northern Ireland this century". The Tories sup- ported the Bill.