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| Boris Johnson condemns rise in Notting Hill carnival arrests | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Boris Johnson, the London mayor, has said the 314 people arrested at this year’s Notting Hill carnival was “simply too many” amid concerns over a surge in knife crime. | |
| Scotland Yard is to review policing of the event after the highest number of arrests since 2008, when Europe’s biggest street festival ended in a riot. | Scotland Yard is to review policing of the event after the highest number of arrests since 2008, when Europe’s biggest street festival ended in a riot. |
| Police had arrested 314 people by 8.30pm on Monday, including 44 for possession of knives and other bladed weapons. | Police had arrested 314 people by 8.30pm on Monday, including 44 for possession of knives and other bladed weapons. |
| Eight police officers were injured in scuffles with spectators. One male police officer was stabbed and taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Another officer was injured trying to stop a group of men committing criminal damage. | |
| Speaking on LBC radio on Tuesday morning, the mayor of London defended the west London festival as a “great cultural event” but said he was concerned about the rise in disorder. | |
| “There was some trouble last night. A little bit more than in previous years. Thankfully it didn’t get out of control but 300 arrests is simply too many and I will be talking to the police commissioner about it later today.” | |
| Johnson said he was “not necessarily a massive supporter of the way it’s organised” and that previous attempts to move the carnival to Hyde Park had been “bitterly resisted by all sorts of people”. | |
| Asked by presenter Nick Ferrari about the plight of residents who want the festival moved from Notting Hill, the mayor said: “Of course they would and I perfectly understand their feelings. But it’s the biggest street festival in the world outside Rio de Janeiro, it’s been going for years, it’s a great symbol of London’s culture and it generates a huge amount of revenue for the city.” | |
| A 19-year-old man was in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being stabbed at about 1pm on Monday, the second day of the festival. Three men, all aged 18, were arrested over the attack and will be questioned later. | A 19-year-old man was in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being stabbed at about 1pm on Monday, the second day of the festival. Three men, all aged 18, were arrested over the attack and will be questioned later. |
| More than 3,500 nitrous oxide canisters with a street value of £17,000 were seized alongside £30,000-worth of counterfeit alcohol. | More than 3,500 nitrous oxide canisters with a street value of £17,000 were seized alongside £30,000-worth of counterfeit alcohol. |
| The 314 arrests represents a 17% rise on last year’s total of 261, which brought a warning from the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, that often stabbings were “centimetres” from being murders. | The 314 arrests represents a 17% rise on last year’s total of 261, which brought a warning from the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, that often stabbings were “centimetres” from being murders. |
| The 44 arrests on Monday for possession of a bladed weapon dwarfs the total of 23 arrested for possessing an offensive weapon over the two days of the carnival last year. | The 44 arrests on Monday for possession of a bladed weapon dwarfs the total of 23 arrested for possessing an offensive weapon over the two days of the carnival last year. |
| The carnival was patrolled by 7,000 officers, enforcing a new “dispersal zone”, introduced for the first time this year to allow police to remove revellers thought to be engaging in antisocial behaviour. | The carnival was patrolled by 7,000 officers, enforcing a new “dispersal zone”, introduced for the first time this year to allow police to remove revellers thought to be engaging in antisocial behaviour. |
| But the sharp increase in arrests and knife crime has prompted the review of policing at the event. | But the sharp increase in arrests and knife crime has prompted the review of policing at the event. |