Northern Ireland Secretary Sir Chris Bryant believed an agreement had been close

The Northern Ireland secretary of state has said his decision to ban the Orange Order's Drumcree march was in the best interests of peace.

The decision came after an agreement couldn't be reached between the Portadown District Lodge and the Garvaghy Road residents over whether the march would be allowed down the predominantly nationalist road.

The stalemate has reopened what was once the most bitter parading dispute in Northern Ireland, with stand-offs in the mid-to-late 1990s accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.

Sir Chris Bryant said he received advice from the PSNI chief constable that allowing the procession to go ahead could lead to serious injury, disorder and wider unrest.

The Parades Commission was established in 1998 to regulate contentious processions.

Its decisions restricting the Drumcree march have been challenged by the Orange Order for decades.

Earlier this year, a court overturned the commission's original decision to stop the parade, ruling it could go ahead, with restrictions on 27 September.

But Garvaghy Road residents blocked the road that morning, preventing the Orangemen from marching, and a stand-off has continued for almost two weeks.

The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on a legal challenge brought by Garvaghy Road residents against the decision to allow the march.

Sir Chris said he had spent almost two weeks trying to broker a deal and believed the two sides had come close to an agreement.

He said two outcomes were discussed. One would have allowed the Orangemen to complete one final march along the Garvaghy Road, on the condition it would not apply to march the route again.

The other would have seen the group accept that it had won the right to march, but agree not to exercise that right, but neither proposal secured agreement from both sides.

'I thought we were very close to an agreement,' says Northern Ireland secretary

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he defended his decision to stop the parade, saying he could not see how the procession could safely take place.

He also said Stormont's power-sharing institutions had proved more resilient than expected, despite concerns the dispute could lead to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive.

Sir Chris said the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had written to him requesting intervention under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998, adding that he received advice from Boutcher that allowing the procession to go ahead could lead to serious injury, disorder and wider unrest across Northern Ireland.

"It seemed to me that the real threat was, precisely as the chief constable had outlined, I couldn't see how the procession could take place."

Sir Chris also said he believed the original determination by the Parades Commission to allow the march had been "legitimate".

Last week, the chief constable said while the PSNI's objective was to facilitate the determination, this could not be done "at all costs".

In his application to have Sir Chris review the ruling, Boutcher said that costs were a factor.

"I highlighted that the continuing costs and impact upon the PSNI were significant and in the context of our existing funding challenges could not be sustained indefinitely," he stated.

The PSNI has said the cost of policing has been about £5m, but warned that figure could rise.

During the operation, about 140 officers were drafted in from across the UK to help under mutual aid arrangements. They have now left Northern Ireland.

The dispute has also prompted a police investigation.

There have been 13 days of deadlock in Portadown since the decision to allow an Orange Order march down the Garvaghy Road on 27 September

The Drumcree parade dispute began in the mid-1990s and it almost derailed the peace process at the time.

Violence related to the dispute resulted in riots, roadblocks and murders.

When the Orange Order was prevented by police from walking down the route in July 1995 there was a tense stand-off. It was the same for the next three years.

The Parades Commission began operating in 1998 to regulate parades and try to defuse tension around marches.

Its decision not to allow a march down the Garvaghy Road that summer has been challenged by the order for the past three decades.

A stand-off between Orangemen and RUC officers at Drumcree in 1996

Last month the Parades Commission decided that the march could go ahead on 27 September with restrictions in place after its original decision to stop the march was overturned in court.

That morning, up to 1,000 people - including politicians such as Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill - blocked the road, preventing Orangemen marching from Drumcree Church a mile to the west.

Since then, residents have maintained a constant presence around the road while Orangemen have also repeatedly tried to march the route before being turned back by police.

Police issue interview letters as part of Garvaghy Road investigation