Police may act to prohibit Saturday's planned march in Hyde, which follows alleged attack on two white youths in town
The chief constable of Greater Manchester police, Peter Fahy, says he may seek to ban a march by the English Defence League (EDL) over fears it could spark unrest.
Fahy is to meet Tameside councillors to discuss whether to apply for a Home Office ban for Saturday's planned march in Hyde, Greater Manchester. The protest follows an alleged attack on two white teenagers in the town earlier this month.
The EDL claimed the march would be a national protest against extremism and that any group such as the BNP "with a history of racial politics or racist ideas" would not be welcome.
But the chief constable said: "We are concerned that there could be a threat to peace and order. The attack was an awful crime but I'm not sure we need outsiders coming in, and clearly the fear is that they are just exploiting the situation."
He said police would be talking to the council about whether to apply to ban the march, although he added that the EDL was legally entitled to stage a static protest.
"It is a very serious issue and the home secretary only uses this power to ban marches on very limited occasions," he added. The home secretary had to decide if the march could cause a risk to disorder or major disruption to life in the community before deciding whether to ban it or not, he said.
Two white youths, Dan Stringer-Prince and Kevan Brown, were allegedly attacked by a gang of Asian youths in Market Street on 4 February. Stringer-Prince suffered a fractured skull and two broken eye sockets.
A 21-year-old man has been charged with assault causing grievous bodily harm in connection with the incident, while two 17-year-olds and a 21-year-old have been released on police bail until 23 April.
Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Greater Manchester police said it was aware that Tameside council was opposing the march and speaking to the home secretary about it. "We are working closely with Tameside council," the force's spokesman said.
A statement on the EDL website claimed the demonstration was not to further divide communities or win support for racial politics and that the BNP or any group with a history of racial politics or racist ideas would not be welcome.
Comments