Scotland Yard negotiating terms of planned EDL Tower Hamlets march
Scotland Yard is in negotiations with far right group the English Defence League (EDL) and opposition campaigners amid calls for a ban on next weekend’s planned demonstration.
The Met said plans for how to police the march, due to take place next Saturday (September 7) are still in their “formative stages”.
Dozens of community leaders, MPs and faith groups signed a letter to home secretary Theresa May this month calling for a ban on the event.
But a Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Some negotiations are ongoing with the organisers, and with those people opposed to it.”
A final decision on the demonstration is due to be taken early next week, he added.
You may also want to watch:
If the Met decides to ban the march, Scotland Yard must apply to the Home Office for approval.
Even if a ban is enforced, EDL leader Tommy Robinson – whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon – said on social networking site Twitter that members of the group would still come to the borough next weekend.
Most Read
- 1 Politicians join forces on referendum about Tower Hamlets mayor
- 2 Man, 19, stabbed in Stepney Green Park
- 3 Refugee fighting £2,850 claim in lettings agency dispute
- 4 Cyclist in critical condition after 'serious collision' in Bow
- 5 Shoppers queue for bread on opening weekend of new Wapping street market
- 6 Unmesh Desai: British Bangladeshi community is important part of the East End
- 7 Shops reopening after lockdown now fear council rent hikes
- 8 Jailed: Teenagers who left victim blind in one eye after train stabbing
- 9 Community group founder calls for mandatory ethnic pay gap reporting
- 10 'Torrent of hate' stalker tweeted pictures of victim on social media
In a series of tweets directed at Tower Hamlets Mayor Lutfur Rahman, he wrote: “We are coming down your rd (sic).
“Even if Theresa May bans our march, we are still coming. 65% of the community want us there,” he added.
Anti-fascist campaigners have also pledged to turn out in large numbers next weekend in a counter-demonstration against the EDL.
