Trigger warning: What I have to say about Notting Hill Carnival will deeply upset the woke - Peter Bleksley

Notting Hill Carnival ‘ultimate show of two-tier policing’ as ex-detective demands ‘hellhole’ is moved |

GB

Peter Bleksley

By Peter Bleksley


Published: 19/08/2025

- 00:01

Keeping up this mass delusion will ensure matters get worse, much, much worse

Two murders.

Eight stabbings.


61 police officers assaulted.

Seventy-two people arrested for possession of an offensive weapon, one for possession of a firearm.

Thirteen arrests for sexual offences.

A total of 349 arrests.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the appalling rap-sheet above related to a grim week in a crime-ridden, lawless city in America, but no, this utterly unacceptable criminal record stems from last year, and belongs to an event that occurs much closer to home, that lasts for just two days in west London, and will soon be upon us once again, namely The Notting Hill Carnival.

I tried to bring you some accurate statistics about the number of rapes, robberies, pickpocketing offences, criminal damage and other similar types of crime that occur during this annual cornucopia of carnage, but the authorities don’t want you and me to see those.

Many people who occupy positions of power and influence will tell you that ‘carnival’ is an important cultural event, and that it must be preserved at all costs, no matter how much blood continues to be spilt, or how many lives are lost.

And there is potential for matters to get worse, much, much worse. As recently as September 2024 the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley told the London Policing Board that the carnival is a ‘poorly run event’, that it was ‘not run by experts in event management’, and that he fears a ‘mass fatality event’ through crushing, a catastrophe that could be akin to the Hillsborough tragedy.

Trigger warning: What I have to say about Notting Hill Carnival will deeply upset the woke - Peter Bleksley |

Getty Images

Quite simply put, any other event with such a disgusting past record, and with the very real capacity for a national disaster, would not be allowed to go ahead, but because this carnival was born from an expression of Caribbean culture, the residents of Notting Hill have to barricade and board up their homes, flee to a place of sanctuary, taking their valuables with them, only to return to their neighbourhood days later when the stench of urine and worse can still pervade.

The cost of policing this havoc in 2023 was just short of 12million quid. It won’t have got any cheaper since then, and as The Met announces more cost-cutting measures like the closure of police station front counters and a reduction in police officer numbers, I find it galling that such an obscene amount of our cash is splurged on just one niche event.

Yet it could all be so very different.

Just down the road from Notting Hill sits Hyde Park. It covers some 350 acres, and whilst that is a smaller area than the footprint of the carnival, it does not have the numerous narrow streets and buildings which create the potentially lethal bottlenecks that strike so much fear into the hearts of the commissioner and many others.

Unscalable fences could be erected around the entire perimeter. Turnstiles, knife arches, state-of-the-art CCTV and many other security measures could be implemented, and the event could become ticketed, thereby ensuring that the identities of everyone who attends are known.

An entrance fee could and should also be charged, with the money being used to cover the vast cost of the policing and security operation.

None of these facilities would impact the processional aspect of the carnival, because roads already exist within Hyde Park, and temporary tracks could also be laid.

What these very necessary measures would do is deter violent, vicious gang members from attending. They only travel to the carnival in order to sell their illegal wares and to settle their differences with other knife-wielding, bloodthirsty scumbags.

It is scandalous, neglectful and manifestly irresponsible that this event is allowed to continue in its current form. The blood that will inevitably be spilt later this month should be on the hands of the organisers and the Mayor of London.

You may not be surprised to hear that I will not be attending. I worked it once as a detective and vowed never to return. If, for whatever reason, you’ve considered making a visit to the carnival, then I beg you to stay at home and walk across white-hot barbecue coals instead. You’ll have a better time.

More From GB News