THE ORANGE ORDER is to initiate disciplinary proceedings against two senior figures from the Ulster Unionist Party over their attendance at the funeral of PSNI constable Ronan Kerr.
The order has received a complaint from one Orange Lodge, understood to be in Belfast, over the attendance of UUP leader Tom Elliott and Stormont assembly member Danny Kennedy at the funeral of the murdered police officer.
Orange Order rules forbid members from attending Catholic Masses. Kerr, who was killed in a car bomb attack in April of this year, was a Catholic.
The UUP said it was dismayed by the complaint, saying the party wanted to “build a society in which people can live together in mutual tolerance and respect and where families can feel secure.
“Ronan Kerr was playing his part in working towards that better future and sadly he lost his life in doing so… as political leaders, it is vital that proper decisions are made for the benefit of not only a Party but the wider community and society.”
A spokesman for the Orange Order said that the complaints procedure is “a private matter” and that it would not comment on specific details.
There are over 1,200 lodges – or branches – of the Orange Order in Northern Ireland.
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