The police were accused of “running Notting Hill Carnival ” at a heated meeting on Monday (October 30) evening.
A passionate and at times angry crowd gathered at the Tabernacle to quiz the organisers of the Notting Hill Carnival and other major stakeholders.
Representatives from London Notting Hill Carnival Enterprises Trust (LNHCET) , Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster councils, and the Met Police attended.
Among the many topics discussed was the image of the annual celebration, which takes place on the August Bank Holiday weekend, policing, the cost of the carnival and securing sponsorship.
Notting Hill Carnival Headlines
The meeting was chaired by LNHCET trustee Lewis Benn, who began with a slide show which included the organisation’s vision, mission, challenges and hopes for 2018.
Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council spent just under £1m on the 2017 carnival, collecting just more than £250,000 on trading pitch fees, leaving it with a total net spend of £773,770.
The figures also showed Westminster City Council spent a net total of £446,996.
Representing the police was Commander David Musker, the senior officer responsible for policing the carnival , who said the event had cost the Met £7.8m, and that he had "serious concerns " about how carnival is run.
Notting Hill Carnival
Discussing sponsorship, LNHCET said it had struggled to attract deals due to the reputation of the carnival, but that it was looking to build on progress made this year in the future.
More work would also be put into training volunteers for the event, with a programme currently being developed which aimed to give long-term life skills to young people.
Police were accused of undermining the carnival, with crime figures related to press following each day of the event attracting a negative “narrative”.
One member of the audience said: “If we keep putting that negative aspect out there sponsors will stay away.”
Comm Musker said it was his duty to release crime figures upon request, and added: “With many events the press don’t ask for these, but they always do for carnival.”
While some voiced their anger at supposed scare stories published in national media, he said that members of the public and police had a corrosive substance thrown at them on the Monday (August 28) evening.
One member of the audience went on to say the carnival had been “hijacked by the police and council”.
Another said the event was not a street event, but “cultural heritage event”.
North Kensington campaigner Niles Hailstones , from the Westway23 group, said the panel was “totally unrepresentative of anything to do with the carnival”.
He went on to say: “You all jumped on the same ship, you put your own chains on and you handed over this to the police.
“The police manage this carnival.”
This year the carnival went Green for Grenfell in an act of respect and solidarity for victims of the fire.
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