§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis concerning incidents of public disorder which took place in All Saints road, Notting Hill, London, on Tuesday, 21 June, including the ethnic breakdown of the people involved in the disturbances; and if he will make a statement on the contents of the report.
§ Mr. HurdI believe my hon. Friend may have in mind an incident on 20 June. We understand from the Commissioner that at about 3 pm on 20 June two police officers on foot patrol in All Saints road saw a man whom they believed to be wanted on warrant for various offences enter a community centre. They informed the local inspector, who deployed a district support unit nearby and entered the centre and made an arrest. As the arrested man was being taken from the premises, there was a disturbance in which the inspector sustained a head injury which required treatment in hospital. The police estimate that most of those involved in the disturbance were black. Other officers came to the inspector's help and a man was arrested for obstruction. A crowd of about 50 spectators gathered outside the premises, but there was no disorder in the street. At 9 am on 21 June a man was arrested in All Saints road in connection with the assault on the inspector. A sizeable crowd gathered, but the only incident was that one of the crowd spat at an officer and was arrested. The man appeared in court on 23 June and was bound over.
We deplore the injury to the officer, and the action by those who attempted to hinder the police in the proper execution of their duties.