Notting Hill Carnival is a ticking time bomb of violence, chaos and soaring costs — how long can we keep ignoring it?

It is one of the largest events in the country, and the Metropolitan Police Service’s largest deployment of resources each year.

We cannot simply ignore what has taken place at Carnival in recent years, or the growing level of concern surrounding the event. Last year saw a particularly violent Carnival, with a young mother murdered in broad daylight while trying to protect her three-year-old daughter.

Another man died in a separate incident, and 7 people were also stabbed.

Senior figures within the Metropolitan Police Service, including the commissioner and the assistant commissioner, have been absolutely clear on how close we have been to a major failing of public safety at recent Carnivals – narrowly avoiding a mass crush on the scale of the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which killed 97 Liverpool fans.

The occurrence of a major public safety disaster has only been avoided by chance – not by effective organisation. Importantly, these concerns are not new.

In fact, they have been raised consistently and repeatedly over the last 25 years, with little in the way of action, change or reform. We cannot go on in this way, and no other event would be allowed to go on in this way.

Sadiq Khan acknowledges there are “frightening” scenes when it comes to crowd control, but not only does he refuse to act, but this report also finds he has given the event an enormous 1000% increase in taxpayer funding, with no reform or change required.

The figures revealed in my report are nothing short of alarming. Criminal offences at carnival have surged by 200 per cent since 2000, while arrests have climbed by 160 per cent. More than 500 police officers have been assaulted since 2016 alone.

These crime and safety issues are a reflection of the reality that a small group of well-meaning volunteers cannot organise a two-day event attended by two million people.

This has been apparent for many years now, with the other stakeholders involved adding a growing number of sticking plasters to try and prevent disaster.

This is not the way any other event on this scale is run, and it is not the way anything that will cost the taxpayer £80 million over the next 5 years is run either.

If we do not act, despite how much we know about the risks outlined in this report, my fear is that we will be looking at a very serious incident indeed. We have the opportunity to prevent this.

There have been very few, if any, reforms to the way the event is organised in decades, and there is no doubt this has had a negative impact on the good which Carnival could do.

We are also facing devastating cuts to London’s police services as a result of choices made by this Labour Mayor and Labour government.

The number of police officers will fall.

Essential services to keep Londoners safe have already been cut.

Crime will increase further still.

London will be even more unsafe than it currently is.

The scale of these cuts means the funding of Notting Hill Carnival must also change to a model that is more sustainable, without permanent uncertainty around further taxpayer funding.

It is impossible to think of any local service which has received a 1000% increase in funding which the Mayor has afforded Carnival, especially at a time when he is cutting the Met’s budget and making London less safe.

The changes I am calling for are designed to help give Notting Hill Carnival the security, stability and structure it needs, while maintaining its legacy, history and proud celebration of Caribbean culture.

I sincerely hope that these suggestions are given serious thought and then implemented before it is too late.

You can read my report here.

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Susan Hall AM is Leader of the City Hall Conservatives.LBC Opinion provides a platform for diverse opinions on current affairs and matters of public interest.

The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official LBC position.

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