Scotland Yard fears mobs at Notting Hill Carnival amid wave of protests

It would be the first time since the 2011 riots the Metropolitan Police has used other officers to assist in keeping the peace at Europe’s largest street party. 

Tension has risen after police were pelted with bottles and bins and mattresses were set alight in Dalston, east London, on Friday night in protest at the death of Rashan Charles last Sunday. 

The 20-year-old died after a police chase, a month after another black man, Edson Da Costa, 25, died in similar circumstances in Newham. 

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Yard fears mobs at Carnival after wave of protests

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  Dalston protesters hurl bottles at police in Rashan Charles protest

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  ‘Burning down your house will not give you justice’ Rashan Charles’…

The carnival is challenging enough to police at the best of times even when there are no outside factor

A police source

Met chiefs are also conscious of the fact that the charred Grenfell Tower looms over the parade route, providing a visible reminder of the tragedy in which 80 residents died and stirring emotions even further. 

They fear the bitterness and simmering anger many still feel towards the authorities may boil over at the two-day August bank holiday weekend event.

The Met already has contingency plans in place for the carnival, which include keeping thousands of officers in reserve. 

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Llames backlight protesters who took to the streets of Dalston on Friday night

Earlier protests over the deaths of Mr Da Costa and Mr Charles had been relatively small scale but the unrest seems to be growing. 

Friday night’s five-hour long violence was the third instance in London in a week after police clashed with youths trying to attend illegal parties in West Norwood and Leyton. 

A police source said: “There are obvious similarities with how the 2011 riots broke out and the heightened tensions we are seeing on the streets of London at the moment. Clearly we are keen to avoid the violence of six years ago at all costs. 

“The carnival is challenging enough to police at the best of times even when there are no outside factors.” 

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  Dalston protesters hurl bottles at police in Rashan Charles protest

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  ‘Burning down your house will not give you justice’ Rashan Charles’…

A parallel concern at the west London carnival, which will attract an estimated one million, is the scourge of acid attacks. 

London has seen a dramatic upsurge in gang members targeting each other and innocent members of the public. 

The source added: “If you are that way inclined, what better environment to do it than in tightly packed streets which allow perpetrators to mingle with the crowds and get away?” 

Scotland Yard thwarted plans to spark violence at the 2011 carnival, weeks after London and other English cities had fallen victim to rioting and looting, by monitoring social media and increasing stop and searches.