The blame for the rioting that hit Belfast and spread to towns in Co Antrim yesterday has been squarely at the feet of the Orange Order by PSNI chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde.
Loyalist rioters brought mayhem to the streets of Belfast and later to surrounding towns in Co Antrim opening fire and throwing blast and petrol bombs at police and soldiers.
Cars were also hijacked and set alight as loyalists rampaged in parts of west and north Belfast near the route of a controversial Orange Order parade. The trouble spread to Ballymena, Antrim, Carrickfergus, Larne, Ballyclare and Glengormley as loyalist anger over the re-routing of the Whiterock parade brought thousands onto the streets at the behest of the Order.
Sir Hugh was incensed by the attacks on his officers and praised them for their work in preventing greater damage and injury.
He said Loyalist paramilitary organisations, the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Volunteer Force for exploiting the mayhem.
"Police officers and soldiers have come under sustained attack. They have been attacked with missiles, petrol bombs, blast bombs, and pipe bombs. They have been shot at.
Masked loyalists riot in protest at the re-routing of the Orange Order march in west Belfast
"The Orange Order must bear substantial responsibility for this. They publicly called people on to the streets. I think if you do that you cannot then abdicate responsibility."
"My officers and the soldiers have acted like heroes. They have taken incredible violence and responded with minimal force. It is truly world class policing."
But a joint statement issued by the Orange Order's Belfast County Grand Lodge and Belfast District No 9, hit back at the Chief Constable.
"Following brutal and heavy-handed police action against Orangemen and members of the wider unionist family in Belfast, it is perhaps not surprising that Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde is giving media interviews seeking to excuse the actions of his officers," they said.
"While the Orange Order has noted the Chief Constable's intemperate, inflammatory and inaccurate remarks, we have decided to take a more responsible line and will not be drawn into a similar knee-jerk reaction.
"Accordingly the Order will be giving no media interviews until it has had time to evaluate the evidence of what happened on the streets of Belfast today. At this stage, all we would say is that if what we saw today was policing, it was policing at its worst."