The Orange Order's denial that Orangemen were involved in rioting after a contentious march has been rejected out of hand by the Northern Secretary Peter Hain and the PSNI.
Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde had said Orangemen had participated in attacks on police which left 60 officers hurt during five days of rioting after the Belfast march.
The attitude of the Orange Order was also rejected by the British government and Republicans called the denials "infantile".
The Orangemen blamed the police, the Parades Commission, the British government and republicans for the trouble - everyone but themselves. Mr Hain expressed surprise that they were washing their hands of blame - and made clear it did not wash with him.
"The Orange Order organised that parade which resulted in, and sparked off, this vicious and ferocious and lethal violence," he said. Attending the Police Federation annual conference outside Belfast, he added: "I saw for myself the Chief Constable's video evidence which was absolutely categorical."
Peter Hain
The video showed "Orange Order members taking off their collarettes and literally picking up rocks and throwing them with ferocity at police officers on the front line", said Mr Hain. Dawson Bailie, Belfast County Grand Master of the Order, insisted he would do nothing differently if he had last weekend over again.
At a press conference in the heart of the Loyalist Shankill Road he said: "As far as I am concerned the violence was started by the police. "The violence I saw at the weekend from the police force was absolutely shocking."
"The violence I saw at the weekend from the police force was absolutely shocking."
Mr Bailie refused to condemn the violence, which involved petrol bombs, pipe bombs and blast bombs being thrown at police, but said he did not condone it.
There has been widespread criticism that he caused trouble by calling for support for the Whiterock Orangemen, when the parades commission ruled they could not march a 100-yard stretch of the Springfield Road.
Mr Bailie responded: "I don't accept any responsibility for calling people out on the streets to assist us. I feel entirely blameless."
Asked if he would do things differently if he had the weekend over again he said: "Not one thing."
Loyalist paramilitaries from the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force joined rioters in the wake of the parade.
Mr Bailie was questioned about photographs of an Orangeman clearly holding a brick in his hand and confronting police. Mr Bailie's response was: "He didn't have it over his head."
The Orange Order Grand Master, Robert Salters, was slightly more moderate in his language, but he too put blame on the police, the British government and republicans for what had happened.
"They approached policing on the day in an aggressive and arrogant manner. "Their complete lack of respect for the Order, its members and memorabilia would not be tolerated against any other cultural or religious group anywhere else in the United Kingdom.
"This does not excuse the violence, but it does go some way to explaining it," said Mr Saulters. He said that perhaps the most worrying thing about the weekend's events was the widespread feelings of frustration within the Protestant community.
There has been widespread criticism that he caused the trouble by calling for support for the Whiterock Orangemen, when the Parades Commission ruled they could not march on a 100-yard stretch of their traditional route along the Springfield Road.
Mr Bailie said: "I don't accept any responsibility for calling people out on the streets to assist us. I feel entirely blameless." Asked if he would do things differently if he had the weekend over again, he said: "Not one thing."
He spoke of "the extent to which ordinary, decent and responsible men have been goaded into behaving out of character by the authorities and their insistence on appeasing and rewarding nationalists at the expense of loyalists".
Mr Saulters added: "For years we have seen nationalists achieve what they want by violence and the threat of violence. "In these circumstances, when frustrated and with no other option, we should not be surprised that some individuals resort to violence." He said he was deeply concerned at the attempt to demonise the Orange Order and make them scapegoats for what happened on Saturday.
He branded the Parades Commission ruling which blocked their parade from its traditional route "the last hooray of a defunct agency that was feeling petulant because we had not engaged with them".
He also attacked Mr Hain for failing to meet Orange leaders. They had sought a meeting in May and were still waiting, he said.
Sinn Fein general secretary Mitchel McLaughlin rubbished the Order's stance. He said the Orange Order and unionist leaders needed to accept responsibility for the loyalist violence.
"The attempt of unionists and the Orange Order to try to blame everyone but themselves is infantile. "It is time for its political leaders to grow up. The first step is to take responsibility for their actions."
Loyalist paramilitaries from the Ulster Defence Association and Ulster Volunteer Force joined rioters after the Orange parade, and Mr Hain acted today by announcing the Government would no longer recognise the UVF's 11-year-old ceasefire. The UDA, which yesterday called for a halt to the street violence, escaped sanction.