£¼m police bill for BNP festival

POLICING the British National Party’s annual festival in Denby cost a quarter of a million pounds it has been revealed.

Derbyshire Police had 400 officers on duty during the course of the August event that was staged on land owned by party member Alan Warner off Codnor Denby Lane.

The £250,000 policing bill included overtime payments, use of the force helicopter, food for officers on duty and temporary toilets.

Antifascist groups and protesters against the BNP clashed with police and 33 arrests were made — all those arrested remain on police bail and no charges have yet been brought.

Mr Warner said that his party should not be blamed for the costs incurred.

“We did not ask for the police to be there because we had our own security on the site,” he said.

“None of our people were arrested all weekend, all the problems were caused by the opposition trying to blockade the road and get onto the site.

“If the unions that paid to bus people in to protest had not done that there would not have been half as many people there to oppose the festival.

“As far as I am aware the festival will be going ahead at the site again next year. We are a valid political party, why should everybody be against us?”

Cllr Paul Jones, a Labour member for Amber Valley and former mayor of Heanor and Loscoe Town Council that objected to the festival initially, said the BNP should be more responsible in their choice of venue.

Cllr Jones said: “People recognise the festival has a right to happen but these costs show that the choice of venue was wrong — it was difficult to police and caused disruption for local residents.

“The BNP could not have picked a worse place for it so they must take some of the blame. There must be more appropriate sites that will be less demanding for the police and the BNP would be doing a disservice to the rate payers in this area that have to foot the policing bill if they didn’t consider those.”

Cllr Jones said he expects Heanor and Loscoe Town Council to object to the festival again if it is staged on the same site in 2009.

Source: Derbyshire Times

Tags: Annual Festival, British National Party, Codnor Denby Dale, Policing Event

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