MPA congratulates Met for May Day operation

30/01
11 May 2001

Praise for the Met’s policing operation on May Day was forthcoming from all members of the MPA at the Full Authority meeting on 10th May.

Toby Harris Chair of the MPA said,

“It is a very difficult task to balance the rights of the individual to protest peacefully against policing disorder and civil unrest. My congratulations go to the Commissioner, his team of senior officers who directed the operation and all officers on the streets of London that day who contributed to making sure that Londoners could continue to go about their usual business in safety.”

All Members endorsed these commendations and Lynne Featherstone urged that the MPA and the Met should build on the overwhelmingly positive response from the public for their police service.

Richard Barnes, Deputy Chair of the MPA, who had accompanied senior officers on the day, admired the transparency of the operation and the fact that he and other groups such as the Independent Advisory Group of the Met were allowed access to operational matters. He witnessed members of the public thanking officers and compared the street scenes of London to those seen over the past year in Sidney and Berlin, where similar demonstrations were held that had erupted into civil disorder and violence. He added that during the course of a year the Met police approximately 3,500 public order events in London, all which are peaceful.

Concerns relating to civil liberties, particularly the length of time protestors had been detained in Oxford Street, were raised by Peter Herbert, Deputy Chair, and other Members. However it was agreed that these specific issues would be discussed in detail in a private workshop. It was agreed that lessons learnt and best practice from this year’s operations would be incorporated into future May Day strategies.

The Commissioner confirmed that the cost of the police operation was approximately £1.7 million, which is almost half of the cost of policing last year’s May Day demonstrations. There were a total of 92 arrests, 22 minor injuries, two of which were police officers, and 125 crimes relating to the demonstrations reported. In all, 5700 police officers were deployed, including 600 officers from British Transport Police.

Notes to editors

The Metropolitan Police Authority took over responsibility for the Metropolitan Police Service from the Home Secretary on 3 July 2000.

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