Members of the Protestant loyal orders and Protestant community workers have pulled out of a conflict resolution trip to South Africa.

About 20 people were due to be taking part in the study visit early next month.

The trip, organised by the Parades Commission, is intended to promote dialogue between people involved in marching disputes and living in interface areas of Northern Ireland.

At the moment, it's just a very unsettling situation David Hoey Apprentice Boys

Neither the Orange Order nor the Apprentice Boys were due to be officially represented, but individual members had agreed to attend.

However, most of the Protestants involved are now understood to have pulled out because of alleged security breaches at the Parades Commission.

The Apprentice Boys said it had been told by the police that the personal details of some of its representatives contained in commission documents had fallen into the hands of the IRA.

A commission spokesperson said the idea behind the study visit had been to promote dialogue, adding that if that did not happen, it would be a matter for regret.

The commission said it did not release minutes of its meetings to the government and has sought police advice and clarification about the alleged breaches of security.

Intelligence gathering

Last week the Apprentice Boys called for the Parades Commission to be suspended over the allegations that commission documents were found during the police investigation into suspected IRA spying.

Last year, the PSNI said it had broken up a major IRA intelligence gathering operation in Belfast.

In a statement, the loyal order body said internal Parades Commission documentation was "a significant common factor in the source of IRA information".

It accused the commission of being "completely compromised" and called for its suspension pending the outcome of the police investigation.

Spokesman David Hoey said the Apprentice Boys would not be taking part in further dialogue on the parades issue until it received a full explanation.

"At the moment, it's just a very unsettling situation," he said.

The government established the Parades Commission in 1998 to make decisions on whether controversial parades should be restricted.

Commission rulings restricting marches by the Protestant loyal orders, which are opposed by nationalist residents, have led to calls by unionist politicians for the body to be scrapped.