Notting Hill Carnival is under threat

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Police and the local council have demanded “changes” to the Notting Hill Carnival to avoid a ban.

In the backlash after the riots they see a chance to further remove the carnival from its origins.

They have called for the carnival to finish earlier and to avoid playing “potentially provocative songs”.

The carnival was launched as a defiant response to race riots against black people in the late 1950s. In 1976 police cracked down on what was then a 250,000-strong event that did not accept their authority.

Young people at the carnival fought back, forcing the police into a humiliating retreat.

Ever since police have been trying to weaken and reduce the street festival.

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