Notting Hill Carnival ‘in jeopardy without government funding'
Ian Comfort, the carnival's chairman, has written to the Culture Secretary to demand funds to keep its two million visitors safe.
The August bank holiday event has long been overshadowed by crime. Last year's event saw two deaths, eight stabbings, 334 arrests and 50 injured police officers.
In the letter to Lisa Nandy, first reported by BBC News, Mr Comfort warned that failure to secure funding 'risks compromising public safety and jeopardising the future of the carnival'.
The letter comes after an independent safety review commissioned by the carnival's organisers found 'critical public safety concerns' at the festival.
The review, whose findings and recommendations have not been made public, cost £100,000 which was covered by the taxpayer-funded Greater London Authority (GLA), Kensington and Chelsea Council and Westminster Council.
The Government has previously supported the carnival through bodies such as Arts Council England, but it is understood that the organisers are requesting direct funding for the first time since its inception in 1966.
Mr Comfort has told the Culture Secretary that investment was needed for stewarding and crowd management to allow police to focus on 'crime prevention and public protection'.
He warned that the GLA and two councils could no longer 'meet the growing operational requirements' of stewarding the event.
It is unclear how much funding the carnival organisers are asking for.
The Met Police deployed 7,000 officers to the 2024 event, with a total of around 14,000 officer shifts allocated to the whole event.
Matt Twist, the force's assistant commissioner, has previously raised concerns that the carnival could turn into a 'mass casualty event'.
He told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee in September: 'While we acknowledge that crime often gets the headlines, the thing that worries me most is the crowd density and the potential for a mass casualty event.'
The committee later published its own report, which warned that the force was being put under an increasing strain which 'has not been matched with an increase in funding from the government'.
Two people died in separate attacks at the carnival last year.
Cher Maximen, 38, was stabbed in the groin in front of her three-year-old daughter while attempting to break up a fight on Sunday. She died after losing five litres of blood.
Mussie Imnetu, a 41-year-old Swedish chef who had trained under Gordon Ramsay, was kicked and punched outside of a restaurant on Monday, dying four days later.
He had been visiting the UK on business from Dubai, where he worked as head chef of the Arts Club.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, said: 'This violence is shocking, completely unacceptable, and a betrayal of the values that Carnival was founded to celebrate.'
Commander Charmain Brenyah, the Met's Carnival spokesman, said at the time: 'Carnival is about bringing people together in a positive celebration. That it has ended with the tragic loss of life, amongst other incidents of serious violence, will sadden everyone involved.'
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport told the BBC it would 'respond to the letter in due course'.
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