§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis on the scale of the incidents which took place in Notting Hill, London, on the evening of Tuesday 20 April; and if he will make a statement;
(2) how many people were arrested in the incidents which took place at Notting Hill, London, on Tuesday 20 April; and with what offences they are charged.
§ Mr. WhitelawAt approximately 9 pm on 20 April three police officers arrested two people in the Portobello Road. A small crowd gathered, the officers were assaulted, the people whom they had arrested escaped and, when the officers went in pursuit, they were attacked by a further group of people.
Subsequently the police received information that barricades were being erected in All Saints Road and adjacent roads and that petrol bombs were being manufactured. Drivers were being stopped from using the road. Just after 10 pm the police prepared to clear the road. The barricades in All Saints Road and adjoining streets were composed of three cars, one of which had been doused with petrol, two rubbish skips and assorted minor obstructions. About 100 officers wearing protective helmets were deployed; some wore flame-proof overalls and carried protective shields. The police cleared the area in an operation which took little more than ten minutes. They subsequently discovered three caches of bottles, all containing petrol and primers.
Eight officers and a small number of members of the public received comparatively minor injuries: one member of the public was detained in hospital overnight for observation, but was discharged the following day. In the incidents as a whole 27 people were arrested. The offences which have been charged are assault on a police officer, possession of an offensive weapon, the use of threatening behaviour and the use of insulting words.
As I have already told the House, I believe that this operation was an example of the sort of action which has to be taken quickly and decisively in such situations.
§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the rioting which took place in Notting Hill, London on Thursday 8 April.
§ Mr. WhitelawWe will write to my hon. Friend in the light of a written report on the incident for which I have asked the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis.
§ Mr. Proctorasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he has any information from the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis as to the formation and operation of vigilante groups in the Notting Hill area prior to the recent disturbances.
§ Mr. WhitelawI understand from the Commissioner that he has no such information.