Police demand Mayor reviews Notting Hill Carnival’s scale to prevent ‘mass casualty event’

The London Assembly Police and Crime Committee has called on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan to commission a review of crowd density and safety at the Notting Hill Carnival.

The Committee said it shares concerns raised by the Met Police about the risk of a crush scenario at Notting Hill Carnival, due to high crowd density and what it claims are inadequate stewarding provision from the organisers. The recommendation follows the Committee’s investigation into public order policing in London.

It said the review should include a full investigation into pinch points, with the results used to inform stewarding requirements at the event,

Due to take place on 23-25 August this year, the Notting Hill Carnival usually attracts around 2 million people.

As part of its policing operation for the 2024 Carnival, the Met had around 7,000 officers on duty, drawn from local policing teams as well as specialist units, with a total of around 14,000 officer shifts across the whole event.

London Assembly Police and Crime Committee chair Susan Hall said, “The Carnival is an important part of London’s cultural calendar. Bringing millions of visitors to London is essential for the economy and providing a wide range of events for Londoners is important for the city.

“However, we have seen and heard a number of incredibly worrying incidents with crowd density at the event, which severely impacts the Met’s ability to keep visitors safe or to respond to any incidents that occur.

“The Met told us during our investigation that there is a real possibility of a mass casualty event, and we cannot stand by and wait for a tragic incident to happen, action must be taken.

“Two people tragically lost their lives at last year’s event due to violent crime, and it is absolutely essential that the Met is on hand to carry out its duties, and not fill in for a lack of stewarding from the organisers.

“We urge the Mayor to commission a review of crowd density and safety at the Carnival, to ensure the event is well managed and to let the Met do its job in keeping us safe.”