Keir Starmer finally speaks out to condemn attacks on police at Notting Hill Carnival
Keir Starmer finally speaks out to condemn attacks on police at Notting Hill Carnival
PA
Sir Keir Starmer has finally condemned violence at the Notting Hill Carnival which left 61 police officers injured over a day after the event ended.
The Prime Minister was asked by GB News why none of his ministers had spoken out to condemn the violence in the way that the riots after the killings in Southport of three girls was criticised.
Speaking on the margins of a summit with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin, Starmer told GB News: "I will condemn any violence from anyone in the same terms as I have done for many, many years.
"So I was very clear about the 2011 riots, which had a different genesis to the recent riots, using very similar language and adopting many of the same approaches in relation to that.
Keir Starmer finally speaks out to condemn attacks on police at Notting Hill CarnivalPA"Obviously, I prosecuted for five years across the board all sorts of crimes so I am very happy to say that wherever it comes from whoever is perpetrating it, it is in the same book as far as I am concerned. And I will condemn anyone using violence."
As well as the injuries to police officers, five people were stabbed at the Notting Hill Carnival in London before it finished on Monday.
Those injured included a mother who was with her young child. Police said they had become "tired" of the same scenes. repeating themselves every year.
Police made 349 arrests over the weekend, including 72 for possession of an offensive weapon, 53 for assault on an emergency worker, and 53 for possession of class B drugs.
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Officers at Notting Hill CarnivalPASpeaking on the People's Channel last night, GB News' Home and Security Editor Mark White said the London Mayor Sadiq Khan's office has been deathly silent on the matter.
“For many people that attend the Notting Hill Carnival, it is a wonderful event and something they look forward to”, he said.
“But there is also no getting away from the fact that there are shocking levels of violence and criminalities at this carnival every single year.
“There are people now in critical condition - fighting for their lives in hospital. They include a mother, a 32-year-old woman who was with her young child when she got caught up in the middle of a gang fight.
Mark White has questioned the response to the Notting Hill Carnival violence GB NEWS“It’s all the more shocking because this happened on Sunday, and for those who know, Carnival Sunday is billed as Family Day. It’s the day when out of the two days you have lower levels of criminality.
“There are some serious issues that come up year after year, and in fact, this year was worse than last year.”
Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Met’s spokesperson for the Notting Hill Carnival, said: “Our thoughts, first and foremost, are with the woman who is fighting for her life in hospital and with her loved ones. She came to Carnival to have fun, with her young child, and was caught up in the most awful violence.
“These arrests are a significant step in the investigation. They are the result of a determined effort by detectives who have worked around the clock to identify, locate and arrest these suspects.
“We should not underestimate how much more difficult those vital early stages of an investigation are when they take place in the context of a busy, crowded event like Carnival.
“I’d also like to acknowledge the incredible work of the officers, including police medics, who arrived so quickly – delivering emergency medical treatment and securing the scene to preserve vital evidence.”