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St George’s Day parade risks being CANCELLED as Havering council accused of ‘anti-English agenda’

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A St George’s Day parade in London could be cancelled in a major blow to the “long-standing tradition”.

The parade, run by the Scouts in Romford on the Essex border, has gone ahead for years without issue.


But now, council busybodies are poised to stop it.

Havering Council has said it will be unable to deal with road closures or road blocking for the festive event alone.

Police are no longer able to step in, the authority says – while a potential £9,000 bill for the Scouts to hire a traffic management firm may be too high.

Local MP Andrew Rosindell accused the council of acting on “spurious bureaucratic reasons because they say that it’s not safe to walk along the street”.

He told GB News: “This parade has gone along for years and years without a problem.

“The police are saying they can’t afford to police the parade. Well, surely a couple of coppers can be sent along to look after the Scouts and Cubs parading for St George’s Day.

Romford St George's Day parade

The Romford St George’s Day parade could be in peril

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ROMFORD DISTRICT SCOUTS

“We send hundreds of police to to police various political parades in London… The Palestinian parades, the Pride march, all these things.

“You’ve got police everywhere – but a scout parade for St George’s Day… You can’t provide just basic police cover to ensure the safety of the kids that are marching along the road for no more than 20 minutes. It’s frankly a disgrace.”

Asked whether authorities were acting with an “anti-English agenda”, Mr Rosindell agreed.

“I think it’s indicative of how the bureaucratic mindset has taken over. No one has got the common sense to realise the offence this causes to local people in my borough… It’s an outrage to expect them to pay that kind of money when these huge demonstrations take place in London at great expense.

“The Metropolitan Police should be ashamed that they’re letting this happen,” he added.

ST GEORGE’S DAY – READ MORE:

\u200bReform UK leader Nigel Farage with new party MP Andrew Rosindell

Andrew Rosindell (right) asked why a ‘couple of coppers’ couldn’t be sent along to look after the Scouts and Cubs

| PA

The Met sends what it calls a “significant number of officers” to London Pride to manage crowds – which often exceed one million people.

Thousands of police are also sent to the centre of the capital to police its frequent pro-Palestine marches.

A Havering Council spokesman said the authority “recognises the long tradition of the St George’s Day Scout Parade and understands how important it is to the community”.

The authority added: “We want local events to take place safely, and we work closely with organisers to help them meet the legal requirements that apply to all processions using the public highway.”

Pro-Palestine march in London

Police send thousands of officers to pro-Palestine marches in the capital

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GETTY

But the spokesman said police had made it clear to the council and event organisers that they were unable to support parades “due to decreasing resources and budget constraints”.

He added that the council “cannot endorse” any event which involves participants walking in the road without an appropriate traffic management plan and a valid Traffic Management Order in place over public safety fears.

“The Council has a statutory duty under Section 16A of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to ensure public safety at such events, and these requirements apply consistently to all organisers,” a statement continued.

“The Safety Advisory Group Chair has responded to the Scouts on this matter and invited them to attend a meeting to provide full clarity on what the law requires and what is needed for the Council to support the parade.”

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