A SCOTSMAN was remanded in custody yesterday accused of provoking trouble by running through the middle of protestors at a loyal order parade in Belfast.
James Boyce is charged in connection with the violence which flared on Saturday after bandsmen defied restrictions on marching past a Catholic church in the north of the city.
Mr Boyce, a 38-year-old lift equipment inspector from Benvorlich Drive, Glasgow, faces charges of carrying out a provocative act and using disorderly behaviour.
Belfast Magistrates Court heard he had been identified on CCTV footage from the scene.
A detective constable opposed bail due to fears that Mr Boyce would not turn up for court and could become involved in further trouble.
She told the court: "Mr Boyce has said to us he regularly comes across the water to attend marches and participate.
"He says that annually he attends the north between three to four times [a year]."
The accused initially claimed that he had accidentally come behind a peaceful protest by residents, the court heard.
According to the police officer Mr Boyce was also in Belfast for the Twelfth of July Orange Order parade and was aware of contentious issues surrounding the same band marching past St Patrick's.
A prosecution lawyer said more charges might follow once a closer study of the CCTV evidence had been made.
Mr Boyce's solicitor said his client accepted that he was the person seen on the footage.
The lawyer said his client, a father-of-two, had travelled to Northern Ire land with his father.
He said that unless Mr Boyce turned up for work today he would lose his job.
"What has already been a devastating experience for him will obviously then be compounded," the lawyer said.
However, District Judge Ken Nixon refused bail due to the risk of reoffending and not turning up for trial.
Mr Boyce was remanded in custody to appear again by video-link on September 24. ■ PROTEST: Nationalists hold a banner to protest as a loyalist band approach St Patrick's Church on Saturday. Inset, James Boyce, in blue, who appeared in court yesterday accused of provoking trouble by running through the middle of the nationalist protesters. Below, police keep loyalists and nationalists apart