Windrush campaigners urge the Government to save Notting Hill Carnival

Campaigners have urged the Government to step in to protect the future of Notting Hill Carnival as they mark Windrush Day.

Transcript

00:00The Notting Hill Carnival attracts around 2 million people over the August bank holiday.

00:08But according to its chairman, Ian Comfort, the carnival is in jeopardy without urgent

00:15government funding. And campaigners have now urged the government to step in. Jacqueline

00:23McKenzie, a campaigner and human rights lawyer who helped victims of the Windrush scandal,

00:32said the carnival held huge national and international significance. And the government

00:40has acknowledged Notting Hill Carnival's significance. But despite all this, it stopped

00:47short of offering financial backing and urged organisers to work with local authorities and

00:54the police. Concerns have also been raised over security at the event. With Susan Hall, the leader

01:03of the Conservatives on the London Assembly, previously saying the event was a victim of its

01:11own success and a quote-unquote disaster waiting to happen because of the large number of attendees.

01:18Indeed, the event has, unfortunately, been subject to a number of high-profile violence

01:25incidents in the past few years, including the murder of 32-year-old Cher Maximin at last

01:32year's carnival, who was killed in front of her three-year-old daughter. City Hall said it

01:38has been working with partners to ensure the safety of carnival goers.