Police Reveal More Notting Hill Carnival Carnage With More Than 330 People Now Arrested While There Have Been Eight Stabbings

Police have arrested at least 330 people in connection with incidents at the Notting Hill Carnival, the Met said tonight – with three people including a 32-year-old mother left fighting for their lives.

Five people were stabbed today, taking the total across the two days to eight, while three people sustained slash wounds and one incident was said to have involved a corrosive substance.

The violence came despite pleas from the Metropolitan Police for an end to attacks, as a senior officer begged: ‘We are tired of saying the same words every year’.

Officers recovered firearms at the festival and during a traffic stop in Harrow involving individuals believed to be on their way to Notting Hill.

And 35 officers were injured today as they were deployed in their thousands to monitor the annual street party – for which local businesses board up windows in anticipation of the chaos that accompanies it every year.

The latest numbers come as police revealed that a woman stabbed on Sunday’s ‘family day’ at Notting Hill Carnival was with her young child.

Scotland Yard said today the 32-year-old mother remained in a critical condition, while a 29-year-old man was also in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Two others are also now fighting for their lives after being attacked.

A 24-year-old man who was also left with non-life threatening injuries after being stabbed during yesterday’s parade has discharged himself from hospital.

But police have confirmed that a total of 104 arrests were made on Sunday – 18 of which were for possession of an offensive weapon. 18 officers were also assaulted in ugly scenes – but none of those attacked have sustained serious injuries.

Today, another 230 arrests were made for a variety of offences – the majority for possession of an offensive weapon, possession of class B drugs and assault on an emergency worker.

A handful of sexual offences, violence and theft crimes were also reported and arrests made.

It came after MailOnline revealed the Met had officially warned police officers to behave themselves at carnival – after previous years saw cops pictured with twerking dancers.

‘Officers were briefed to be vigilant, purposeful and friendly at all times,’ a spokesperson for Met Police told MailOnline.

‘They were asked to police in the spirit of the community celebrations while remaining professional, being engaging without being embarrassing.

‘They were told that high standards of behaviour and appearance were expected and that dancing or other antics were not in line with that.’

As police braced for more trouble at the main parade in west London today, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said: ‘Yesterday we saw the first day of Carnival marred by unacceptable violence. Three people were stabbed and we only very narrowly avoided a fatality.

‘This was supposed to be ‘family day’ – a celebration suitable for all ages. One of those in hospital, a 32-year-old woman whose condition remains critical, was at Carnival with her young child.

‘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.

‘Carnival is a community event and the vast majority of people come to celebrate, to dance, to enjoy music and have a fantastic experience.

‘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.’

Further arrests were made for sexual offences, drugs, robberies and a range of other crimes.

A Section 60 order, otherwise known as stop and search, was also authorised for the Carnival area from 6.05pm to 2am as part of an intensive police operation. This gives officers greater powers to search suspects and remove weapons from the streets.

Around 7,000 officers have been deployed to police the event across the bank holiday weekend. There are fears that there could be more violence on Adults Day today, which is the carnival’s busiest day.

Notting Hill is one of the longest-running street parties in the UK and celebrates Caribbean culture with vividly costumed performers taking part in a parade through the streets with dancing and music.

But carnivals in the past have also been marred by violence. There were eight stabbings and 275 arrests at the 2023 event.

Despite the high number of arrests and heavy police presence, a retired Met Police detective chief inspector yesterday claimed officers are hesitant to make arrests during the event for fears of being called racist.

Mike Neville spoke to the Daily Telegraph where he leaned into the growing conspiracy theory that two-tier policing exists in Britain.

He said: If the behaviour of the Notting Hill Carnival was replicated at football matches or any other event it would be banned.’

Mr Neville has claimed that many revellers at the event openly smoke illegal drugs in front of police officers without fear of arrest as proof of his allegation.

Scotland Yard rejected claims that it applies two-tier policing at the event.

Commander Chairman Brenyah told the Telegraph that the force has search powers that will use to take weapons off the street and intervene with anyone committing violence.

Commander Brenyah did admit that the sheer weight of numbers attending presents a potential danger and is a ‘serious cause for concern.’

Businesses and residents have boarded up their properties in preparation for the carnival.

On Saturday, performers competed in Notting Hill Carnival’s Panorama evening, which is the UK’s biggest steelband competition and sees five bands play a ten-minute composition from memory with no sheet music allowed.

Children’s Day was held on Sunday, featuring family-friendly activities and a parade, where youngsters in colourful costumes are encouraged to dance in the streets. It is sometimes known as Family Day.

The Adults’ Parade is held on Monday, described by organisers as the climax of the carnival with ‘party vibes’ – but it is also where most arrests are made.

Met spokesperson Commander Charmain Brenyah said she had grown up near where the event is held in west London and has ‘many happy memories of the music, costumes, floats and fantastic atmosphere’.

But she added: ‘Sadly, however, we know that for a minority of people, Carnival is an opportunity to commit crime or to seek out violent confrontation.’

The Met have promised a very significant and proportionate policing presence.

‘Officers have been briefed around their powers and they are aware of their powers,’ explained Commander Brenyah.

‘They’re going to be acting proportionately. The main focus of the event is make sure we support a safe and secure carnival.’

The Met said it will be deploying a specialist crowd management cell for the second year in a row, to monitor crowd density and flow.

In order to staff the event, Met officers will be joined by colleagues from the City of London Police and the British Transport Police.

Rick Prior, chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said many ‘hard-working’ officers will be ‘missing valuable time to rest and be at home with loved ones’ to police the event.

‘We wish our hard-working colleagues a safe and secure policing operation at the Notting Hill Carnival,’ he said.

‘Many are missing valuable time to rest and be at home with loved ones to work across the bank holiday weekend at this demanding event.’

Transport for London (TfL) urged people travelling to the carnival to plan their journeys in advance as it warned some stations could be much busier than usual.

The Labour Party described the event – which was first held in the 1960s – as a ‘vibrant celebration of Caribbean culture and black history through music, art and dance’ in a social media post on Saturday.