The London Assembly’s Police and Crime Committee has called on the Mayor of London to commission a review into crowd density and safety at Notting Hill Carnival before a “mass casualty event” occurs.

The committee says that the Met continues to raise concerns about the risk of a crush scenario at London’s famous carnival, citing “inadequate stewarding provision from the organisers”. The Police and Crime Committee says it shares these concerns and says that the volume of people attending Notting Hill Carnival creates a “complex policing challenge”.

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

The committee has, therefore, published a report called Public order policing – the Met’s approach and recommends that the Mayor commissions a review of crowd density and crowd safety at Notting Hill Carnival to inform stewarding requirements. This must include a full review of pinch points and strict guidance for the number of stewards required across the carnival.

Susan Hall, chairman of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, 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.”

Notting Hill Carnival 2025 takes place from August 23-25.

Image: Bernd Dittrich