A DUP deputy mayor has defended his Orange walk bandmates after video on social media appeared to show them assaulting an elderly woman in Glasgow.
Tyler Hoey, who serves as the deputy mayor of Mid and East Antrim for the Democratic Unionist Party, said he would be willing to speak to Police Scotland about the alleged assault, The Belfast Telegraph reported.
Hoey was seen on video just metres from an incident in which members of the Ballymena Protestant Boys flute band blocked an elderly couple from passing through an Orange walk.
The woman was pushed to the ground and the man was pushed off the road in an incident which reportedly took place on July 5, when more than 50 Orange walks took place in Glasgow.
Hoey, who is a member of the Ballymena Protestant Boys, told The Belfast Telegraph: “I would be more than happy to provide Police Scotland with a fuller picture of what occurred here because the video doesn’t show the full story.
“I know others in the band and the lodge we accompanied would be happy to do likewise.”
“The two police officers who accompanied the band and lodge throughout the parade would obviously have useful information also,” he added.
There is no suggestion that Hoey was involved in the assault.
Hoey is also reportedly a member of the Cloughfern Young Conquerors flute band, which has been linked to the Ulster Defence Association (UDA) – a proscribed terror organisation in the UK.
Police Scotland are probing other incidents which took place during the mass Orange walks on July 5.
Chief Superintendent Stevie Dolan previously said that four people had been arrested in Lanarkshire for breach of the peace and anti-social behaviour, and four others were hit with suspected air pellets in Glasgow.
"We are investigating an incident on Sauchiehall Street near to Kelvingrove Street in Glasgow, where four participants in the procession were struck by what was believed to be air weapon pellets,” he said at the time.
"Our inquiries into this dangerous occurrence are ongoing."
Police Scotland has been approached for comment.
