03 May 2002
MPs and protesters slammed the Met's tactics as 'heavy-handed' and 'inflammatory' after Assistant Commissioner Michael Todd admitted the force was operating a high-visibility approach to counter the threat of violence on May 1.
Todd said the Met's tactics would be 'in effect… "in yer face policing", with strong evidence-gathering'.
The Met refused to provide an estimate of the cost of policing after additional officers were again drafted in to help supervise an estimated 10,000 demonstrators, many of whom voiced their frustration at the government's policy of public services privatisation.
All police leave in the capital was cancelled, while a control centre, monitoring activities through the extensive use of CCTV cameras, was also established. The Met – which is part-funded through a precept levied on London boroughs – will cover the cost of the day's activities.
Westminster City Council said it faced a 'potentially huge' clean-up bill following the operation and that the cost was likely to 'run into hundreds of thousands'. Last year's May Day protests cost the council more than £100,000.
Around 6,000 protesters were estimated to have attended this year's joint TUC/Globalise Resistance rally in Trafalgar Square, at which members of the socialist umbrella organisation denounced the police's tactics. One told Public Finance: 'This is a very heavy-handed approach to a peaceful protest.'
But Todd was adamant that the potential for violence among a minority of the protesters justified the no-nonsense policy. 'We will use whatever tactics we need to keep Londoners safe,' he said.
At the TUC rally, backbench Labour MP Diane Abbott and former Cabinet minister Tony Benn called on the government to support public sector workers at the expense of its privatisation policy.
l Home Secretary David Blunkett used the May Day activities as a convenient time to announce more details of a £62m injection of cash – initially allocated in the Budget – for the Met to combat the increased risk of terrorism and civil disobedience in the capital.
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