Two contentious loyalist Apprentice Boys parades in Belfast today have passed off peacefully. The start of the north Belfast parade was delayed by a bomb alert which was later declared a hoax.
As Mr Colin Cramphorn took up his new role as the Police Service of Northern Ireland's Acting Chief Constable, his officers joined soldiers in facing the first test of this year’s marching season.
Amid the heavy security, nationalist protesters blew whistles and held up placards as the Apprentice Boys walked through the predominantly Catholic Ardoyne district.
Sinn Féin described the march past the mainly republican Ardoyne area as provocative.
Sinn Féin assembly member Mr Gerry Kelly said he was unhappy the march was allowed to go through the Ardoyne area of north Belfast.
Protesters shouted "End Sectarian Marches" and "Scum" as the small group of Loyalists marched through the area accompanied by a flute band bearing the name of the Ulster Volunteer Force.
Trouble flared in another part of north Belfast, with nationalist and loyalist mobs hurling stones at each other.
Up to 100 Protestants and dozens of Catholics were involved in the fighting, on the Limestone Road. Order was restored when police separated the rival factions.
The decision to let the Loyal Order march down the Ardoyne Road provoked anger among nationalists, who said the parade to the city centre which marks the start of the loyalist marching system should have been re-routed given the history of violence clashes in the area.
Ardoyne has been the scene of sectarian conflict over the past year, with loyalists staging protests against Holy Cross primary schoolchildren and occasional street disturbances flaring up.
Despite the tensions in north Belfast, another loyalist parade in the south of the city passed by without incident.
Apprentice Boys had been from walking along the Ormeau Road banned by the Parades Commission because the route took them past a bookmakers where loyalist paramilitaries murdered five people 10 years ago. PA