Ex-Met chief: Move Notting Hill Carnival to Royal Park and charge admission


According to a former senior police officer, the Notting Hill Carnival should be relocated to a Royal park and become ticket-only with security checks, but detractors “fear being dubbed racist” if they speak out against the festival.

Moving the event to a private location, according to Roy Ramm, a former commander of specialised operations for the Metropolitan Police, would facilitate police while also generating income for the neighbourhood.

However, he acknowledged that senior police officers are afraid of being seen as racist if they criticise the Caribbean festival, which has been going on on the streets of West London since the 1960s.

It comes after Takayo Nembhard, a 21-year-old drill rapper who used to play football, was fatally stabbed on Monday, casting a shadow of violence over the carnival.

The Met has also stated that it is looking into claims of sexual assault against two female officers, with one being kissed and grabbed around the neck, and the other being “surrounded by a number of males.”

During the two-day incident, police made 209 arrests, and they also noted six other non-fatal stabbings. 74 police officers were also abused.

But Mr. Ramm acknowledged that “there are those who still want to be aggressive, to sell drugs, and to mark their territory” despite the carnival’s relocation.

From a police standpoint, relocating the carnival is a far better position, he told MailOnline. However, the community will reject it since they believe that carnivals belong on the streets.

In 35 years, violence during the Notting Hill Carnival has resulted in six fatalities.

30 August 1987: 23-year-old Michael Augustine Galvin

Nicholas John Hanscomb, 38, died on August 26, 1991.

Greg Fitzgerald Watson, age 21 on August 28, 2000

28-year-old Abdul Munam Bhatti on August 28, 2000

Lee Christopher Surbaran, 27, died on August 30, 2004.

Takayo Nembhard, age 21, on August 29, 2022

It would be fantastic to be able to charge admission fees and make money. The risk is that rival events would probably start up again on the streets.

‘I know how challenging it is to police an event on the streets because I have investigated serious crimes that have occurred at Notting Hill Carnival and policed the poll tax riots. It is appropriate to move it.

After saying earlier this week that his colleagues ‘dread’ policing the event, Met Police Federation chair Ken Marsh, who represents 30,000 officers in the force, made the statement.

Calls for moving the carnival to a location like Hyde Park, where it can be “a lot more easily controlled,” are being led by Mr. Marsh.

Mr. Ramm concurred that “one of the Royal parks” would be “the best way” to host the carnival in the interim.

Police have collaborated with authorised organisers and the council to try to make it work for public safety, he continued.

“Holding it in one of the royal parks would be the best option.” It would lose credibility if you go too far from Notting Hill, of course. It would be simpler if there were security checks and entrance checks.

It was also mentioned by Mr. Ramm that there were concerns in the police community about criticising the occurrence, but he insisted that it was still important to inform the public of the facts.

He said, “Yes, I do believe there is anxiety, and we are seeing that in police.”

Because of that [the fear], several chief constables throughout the nation have kept quiet about crimes.

Furthermore, he criticised Sadiq Khan for calling the carnival a flawless affair, saying: “Sadiq Khan stated the carnival was an excellent occasion.”

It wasn’t, has never been, and most likely won’t ever be. Brushing it under the rug won’t help.

‘On an ideal world, it would be held in the streets and crime-free. But it’s difficult to perceive that.

However, a representative for the mayor of London said today that it is “only proper” for the carnival to continue in Notting Hill.

According to a statement, “The Mayor is utterly shocked by the allegations of female police being sexually attacked while on duty and his sympathies are with the family and friends of those touched by the violence during the weekend.”

Takayo Nembhard, a footballer-turned-drill rapper who had travelled from Bristol “just to have a good time,” has been identified as the man who was fatally stabbed at the Notting Hill carnival. Police are now looking for his attacker.

At 8 o’clock on Monday night, Mr. Nembhard, 21, was stabbed to death on Ladbroke Grove under the Westway flyover as tens of thousands of people lined the streets for the west London carnival.

He was given first treatment by police officers until paramedics arrived, and then he was transported to an ambulance “through significant crowds in tough conditions.”

Mr. Nembhard was rushed to a neighbouring hospital where he was declared dead yesterday night. He went by the stage name TKorStretch and had slightly less than one million views across his music videos on YouTube.

He played youth football with Bristol Rovers before switching to drill rapping after being forced to give up the game owing to injuries. His partner is also presently expecting a kid, and in a touching obituary, it is said that the infant “will never know his father.”

Today’s Instagram post that announced his passing read: “Two years ago, a young guy named Takayo Nembhard, well known by his stage moniker TKorStretch, travelled from Bristol to see me in my studio.

“That encounter sent us on a quest.” Together, we created some fantastic music. He had unending potential, and I can assure you that he was on the verge of greatness!

I must thus share the sad news that Takayo (TKorStretch) died away last night with you. This is what transpired when he travelled from Bristol to London for the sole purpose of enjoying the carnival there.

My sincere sympathies go out to TK’s mother and father, brother, two sisters, girlfriend, and unborn kid! It crushes my heart what happened to TK because he was a nice child and a decent person. Peace be with you, dear buddy.

Chris Patrick, the manager of Mr. Nembhard, issued a statement in which he said: “He went to Carnival with his younger sister and pals to have fun. The worst potential outcome for a gifted young person is this.

When performing, TKorStretch used masks as part of his performance.

He provided the following justification in an interview with Wordplay Magazine from last July: “I don’t want my face to be the face everyone remembers. I don’t want people to recognise me as the music’s creator when I go to Tesco.

I just want to compose music that people will appreciate; I don’t care about celebrity. Don’t get me wrong, I like chatting to people, but whether I’m with my mother, sisters, or someone else, I simply want to be able to unwind.

He described how, while playing for Bristol Rovers’ under-17 squad, he had a leg injury that led him to start writing music as a teenager.

I was at the academy from the time I was 6 years old until I was 16 years old, but I was hurt and had a blood clot in my right leg, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to play for a long, he added.

I needed to find something to keep me focused so I wouldn’t lose my mind because of this. I like singing, so I frequented little studios here and there before beginning to take it seriously.

“He is emphatic that the offenders ought to be speedily brought to justice.” At the Notting Hill Carnival, criminality has absolutely no place, and we will keep cooperating closely with the police and the organisers to stop it.

One of the largest street celebrations in the world, the Notting Hill Carnival has long been a staple of London culture.

“It’s only appropriate that this retains its home,” the statement goes, “since it was founded out of the African-Caribbean immigrant community in North Kensington and Notting Hill in the 1960s.”

Following Mr. Marsh’s statement this week that he was “fed up” with no one talking about the groups of individuals who “travel for one purpose – to bring damage to others,” Mr. Ramm made his comments.

I believe it should be halted, he said to LBC. I believe it ought to be situated in a secure place, such as Hyde Park, where it can be gated off and entry and exit points can be monitored.

We cannot continue with the current system, where every bank holiday weekend I explain why so many of my colleagues are attacked or gravely hurt. attacked or badly harmed members of the public.

“Over the course of the two days, we confiscated dozens of knives and broke up 200 to 300 tiny, irregular clashes. This is not going to be a weekend of fun.

“The sadness to this is that 98% of people that go there are law-abiding and want to have fun, but there is a small portion, and I am going to put it out there because I am totally sick up with no one talking about it, of individuals who attend for one reason—that is, to injure others,” the speaker said.

The Met is looking into two incidences in which officers may have been sexually assaulted while attending the carnival.

An officer was “grabbed about the neck and kissed on the face without her permission” in the first incident.

The police stated today that a 46-year-old male was detained on the spot and subsequently charged with sexual assault. On September 19, Florin Matei will show up at Westminster Magistrates’ Court.

A second female officer was “surrounded by a group of males who danced and “grinded” against her,” prompting the opening of an investigation.

Other policemen “came to her help,” but according to the police, it “was not feasible” to apprehend the gang at the time, and they were able to flee into the sizable throngs that had gathered in the streets for the carnival.

Additionally, images of the mayhem caused by revellers being pushed into trains as they attempted to exit the carnival on the Tube have surfaced.

Yesterday, Tory MP Victoria Atkins said that the carnival’s “dark underbelly” had to be addressed.

According to her, the carnival is a fantastic event, she told LBC. It is a huge tragedy for the vast majority of people who attend carnival to dance, sing, eat delectable cuisine, and have a fantastic time with their friends and family. I have personally liked it in the past.

But there does seem to be a violent underbelly to the carnival, as individuals participate while inflicting harm on others.

“Since there has regrettably been a murder, I do believe we need to attempt to do something to get away of this murky aspect of the carnival so that the joyful celebration that we all love witnessing may remain in Notting Hill.”

I wouldn’t want the carnival to end. To be honest, I don’t believe we could even if someone tried. Carnival will occur no matter what.

463 criminal complaints were made at the most recent event, which took place in 2019 before the Covid epidemic hit, according to Met Police statistics. Drug-related offences made up the bulk of crimes.

Additionally, video from Monday showed a bandit savagely beating a lady to the ground after a fight that broke out on the chaotic carnival final day.

A topless battle between two women was seen on camera at the event on Sunday, while another video showed crowds yelling and having to clamber over a barrier as hundreds of people were forced to cram onto one lane with little room.

Additionally, video of a fight between two ladies on Sunday has been posted online.

In the video, two ladies are being restrained by a guy and a woman, one of whom is sporting an exposed bra underneath a black tank top.

In front of a shocked throng, the topless lady lunges at a woman wearing a black and white check cardigan and repeatedly punches her in the head.


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