Sadiq Khan has been urged to take over London’s Notting Hill Carnival as years of violence and crime has left the event “on the brink”.
The event, in the capital’s west, has seen arrests surge by 160 per cent and offences by 203 per cent since 2000.
As a result, taxpayers are expected to shell out as much as £100million just to cover the costs of the carnival in the next five years alone, a bombshell new report has found.
Khan has said he has no legal responsibility for the event – but his nine-fold funding increase since 2016 “is the only way it has been able to continue”, the report warns.
Sadiq Khan has been urged to take over London’s Notting Hill Carnival
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The 2024 carnival saw two deaths, eight stabbings, 13 sex offences, 61 assaults on police and 355 arrests, according to Met Police data.
It also saw crushing, overcrowding and safety barrier collapse issues due to the sheer number of attendees.
And with millions slated to attend this year’s iteration, the Mayor has been told to take action.
The review, authored by the City Hall Conservatives, has demanded that the carnival be ticketed – or find sponsors and self-fund security measures.
The group’s leader Susan Hall, meanwhile, has warned of a Hillsborough-style “disaster” if it continues on its current trajectory, and has suggested it could move to Hyde Park to cool the chaos.
LATEST ON NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL:
Last year’s event saw crushing, overcrowding and safety barrier collapse issues
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Private firm Notting Hill Carnival Ltd and the Carnival Village Trust charity run the event.
The latter’s chairman, Ian Comfort, was revealed to have told the Culture Secretary in June that the carnival was at risk of “compromising public safety” without “urgent funding”.
And the Tories’ review has said Khan’s Greater London Authority should formally take over.
Hall has also called for a maximum capacity and mandatory pre-registration, which could help police track down criminals and ban them from returning.
She said: “Notting Hill Carnival is a hugely important event and deserves to succeed – my report is designed to raise awareness of the serious safety issues the event faces in its current form, and put forward recommendations to give the event the security and stability it needs.
“As my report shows, crime has increased substantially at the event since 2000, alongside a huge increase in the cost to the taxpayer.
Susan Hall’s review has said Khan’s Greater London Authority should formally take over the carnival
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PA“We must find another way – no other event would be allowed to continue like this.
“At a time when Londoners are facing cuts to essential and frontline policing services because of Sadiq Khan and this Labour Government, the Met simply cannot afford to spend over £80million policing carnival over the next five years.”
A spokesman for Notting Hill Carnival Ltd said: “Many of the points raised in this report have been addressed and actioned by NHCL and its strategic partners.
“An independent review commissioned by NHCL earlier this year has led to numerous changes this year and beyond.”
The Met, meanwhile, has confirmed it will bring in live facial recognition technology this year at the carnival’s entry and exit points to help officers “identify and intercept” people who pose a risk to public safety.
