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Get tough and stop the demos, MP tells the Met
Joe Murphy20 May 2009
An MP today called on police to get tough with Tamil protesters bringing chaos to Parliament Square.
Tory MP Gerald Howarth called time after it was revealed that the cost of policing the six week long demonstrations has reached £8 million.
He accused the Metropolitan Police of being too nervous in the wake of the criticism they faced over policing methods used at the G20 summit.
“With costs running at a million pounds a week to police the Tamils, it is time to call a halt,” said Mr Howarth.
“It is a hell of a bill that Londoners are being asked to pay, along with the traffic chaos and the inconvenience to people who have missed appointments or been made late for work.”
The MP said voters trying to lobby their MPs in the Commons had also been put off because of rowdy protests.
Police have had a day and night presence at Parliament Square since April 6. At times there were five vans and dozens of officers standing around in the square in the middle of the night.
Although the Tamils have been largely peaceful, they have several times flooded onto the streets and blocked Westminster Bridge Road, causing gridlock in central London.
Met chief Sir Paul Stevenson admitted yesterday that after 43 days of round-the-clock policing the costs came to £7.94 million - beating the £7.2 million spent on the G20. Some £3.72 million was in overtime.
“It has to be said that policing that demonstration is a huge drain,” he said.
Reader views (4)
The British Police has given oppertunity to the birth of Student Terrorists groups by allowing these protests. If you visit these protests you can see that under disguise of humanitarian need they are supporting a banned Terrorist group and breathing "hatred" and planning attacks on Sinhalese establishments that are being carried out and also various High Commissions and Embassies. This is also a security threat and an oppertunity for any Al-Queada group to make mischief in the Parliment Square. Sadly the money wasted could have been used to help the displaced in the North of Sri Lanka. I call on the met to be strong and these people to move on and get a life as there are other nationalities in London and its not only about Tamil Sri Lankans.
- Pratap Khan, London, UK, 23/05/2009 11:03
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London shouldn't allow a gathering of a banned terrorist organisation/supporters blatantly displaying terrorist flags. Would London spend 8 mil and allow Taliban to mob the city? With this precedent the next time it will be them!! If you allow LTTE then you will need to allow Taliban too.
- Kay, Botswana, 20/05/2009 21:18
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Well you reap what you sow. 8 million sterlin pounds could have helped a lot of people IN LONDON - no we dont want your money here in sri Lanka. Your citizens funded the LTTE to cause carnage for over 30 years. You deserve to have your share of protests and expenditure.
Good luck !
- Dilshan F, colombo sri lanka, 20/05/2009 14:30
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Gutless Jackie Smith and the 'lickspittle shoe in' Stephenson. No police force in any major capital in the world would put up with being utterly humiliated like this. Visit 3rd World London everyone and witness a shambles.
- Nick Holland, glasgow, 20/05/2009 10:52
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