London’s Met Police Describe Notting Hill Carnival as a ‘Family Day’ as Mother Is Stabbed in Front of Her Child

London’s Metropolitan Police have described the multicultural Notting Hill Carnival as a “fantastic event” and a “family day” as a mother was left in critical condition after being stabbed while she was with her child.

Accusations of “two-tier” policing have once again been levelled at the Met, as the British capital’s police force appeared to take pains to paint the two-day Afro-Caribbean street party as a wholesome event fit for families, despite frequent violence, drug use, sexual assaults, and participants often attending in scantily-clad, highly-sexualised outfits.

At the end of the first day of the Carnival on Sunday evening, the police said: “Hundreds of thousands of people came to Notting Hill Carnival today to enjoy a fantastic celebration… Regrettably, a minority came to commit crime and engage in violence.”

Sunday saw three people stabbed, including a 32-year-old mother who was with her child as she was attacked. She has since been hospitalised with life-threatening injuries. Two men, aged 29 and 24 years old, were also stabbed on Sunday.

Additionally, 15 police officers were assaulted, 10 emergency workers were assaulted, and 90 people were arrested for a range of offences, including possession of weapons and drugs.

Nevertheless, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: “Carnival is a community event and the vast majority of people come to celebrate, to dance, to enjoy music and have a fantastic experience… This was supposed to be ‘family day’ – a celebration suitable for all ages.”

However, Adelekan did add: “Yesterday, we saw the first day of Carnival marred by unacceptable violence… We are tired of saying the same words every year. We are tired of telling families that their loved ones are seriously injured, or worse. We are tired of seeing crime scenes at Carnival.

“It is the responsibility of all who value this event, who want to see it as the celebration it should be, to speak out and speak up about the violence that continues to overshadow it.”

The Met’s social media account also took time to fact-check numerous videos on X of previous year’s Carnivals, including one in which a festival goer was twerking up against a police officer, who appeared to do nothing to stop her.

“It’s regrettable that we are once again seeing accounts sharing old videos from previous years in an effort to discredit officers working hard on today’s event,” the police force wrote on Sunday.

Prior to the event, retired Scotland Yard detective chief inspector Mike Neville said that Notting Hill Carnival represents the “ultimate in two-tier policing,” claiming that the police are too afraid to crack down on the event because they do not want to appear racist.

“If the behaviour of the Notting Hill Carnival was replicated at football matches or any other event, it would be banned,” the former policeman said. “You see people openly smoking drugs, abuse of police officers, dancing with female officers to the point of sexual assault. I challenge anybody to do the same thing on the way to a Millwall football game.”

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