BY ED WEST
A LONDON priest was expected to defy his local council’s attempts to stop a traditional Good Friday procession on health and safety grounds today.
Fr Hugh MacKenzie, of St Mary Magdalen church in Willesden, north-west London, said marchers would still walk the 400-yard route after Brent Council refused them permission.
Previously, organisers of the procession had only needed to inform police of their route, but new rules mean they must receive permission from Brent Council. Officials said they banned the walk because they were contacted too late to carry out a “consultation” to close the roads.