Anger as EDL march in Walsall costs taxpayer £35k

More than a hundred members of the far-right group demonstrated through the town in April.

And while just one arrest was made – passing without major incident – West Midlands Police's 171 officers and 31 vehicles cost a total of £33,779.

This takes the total cost of policing EDL marches in Walsall over the past three years to more than £76,150, after ££42,371 was spent on policing a separate march in 2015.

The new figures have been obtained following a Freedom of Information request from the Express & Star to West Midlands Police.

Councillor Aftab Nawaz, who represents the St Matthew's town centre ward, where the march took place called the group's visit an 'attack on the people of Walsall'.

He said: "I'm horrified at the cost of this unwanted right-wing protest that had nothing to do with Walsall. This money would have been much better spent on frontline services, and with the current environment of austerity where we are having massive cuts, every penny counts.

"People from the EDL should be brought to book and pay for it themselves. I haven't a doubt that they will want to come back and the people of Walsall should be asking them to pay money up front – if we ask them to do that they won't come anywhere near the town.

"As people of Walsall, we are untied against the EDL and that the money should be going on to things that are important to the people.

"That amount of money could pay for extra teachers, extra police on our streets, the potholes people complain about. The EDL coming here is an attack on our people.

"My message to the EDL is that they're not wanted here for many reasons – they're a waste of space and money."

Members of the far-right group carried St George's Cross flags through St Paul's Square and chanted 'We're the famous EDL.'

Despite coming into almost direct contact with anti-racism campaigners We Are Walsall, there were no signs of violence on the day, which had overshadowed previous visits by the group.

Police arrested a 36-year-old man on suspicion of a racially-aggravated public order offence.

Ahead of the demonstration, the group's visit was widely condemned by civic leaders in the town – with dozens of church leaders backing a petition against the march.

Chief superintendent Andy Parsons, of Walsall Police, said: “We have a duty to positively police the fundamental right of peaceful protest and worked hard to ensure there was minimal impact on business as usual in the town centre.

“Working with other agencies and partners, we assess protests and events and provide an appropriate policing response where necessary.”