£100k for two marches: The cost of right-wing protests in the Black Country
Right-wing protests in two Black Country towns cost West Midlands Police more than £100,000 in just two months, the E&S can reveal.
Almost 700 police officers and staff were pulled in from all areas of the force to manage the latest EDL march in Walsall in August which it today emerged has cost just over £42,000.
This follows a bill for £60,000 for police to manage a similar march by members of All Football Fans/Firms Against Islamisation (AFFFAI) in Dudley in June.
Around 200 supporters gathered in Walsall last month for the demonstration.
The far-right group said they had come to Walsall 'to expose problems brought about by Islamification' but undercover Express & Star reporters exposed some participants snorting cocaine and one telling of a plan to cause trouble at a mosque.
