500 extra officers to police Rotherham's 16th far-right protest

AN EXTRA 500 police officers will be on the streets of Rotherham tomorrow as the town prepares for its 16th far-right protest in four years.

Assistant Chief Constable Jason Harwin, of South Yorkshire Police, said the operation, which will include support from 11 other UK police forces, will cost up to £250,000.

The operation is in response to anti-Islam group Pegida UK — led by EDL founder Tommy Robinson — who will hold a “silent protest” in the town centre on Saturday against “Islamic misogyny and anti-white hatred”.

Mr Harwin said: “Having experienced a high number of protests already in Rotherham town centre, I’m sorry to inform you that there will be another one this weekend.

“I’m acutely aware of the frustration the local community feel with every protest in the town.

“I share this frustration and we’re fully considering all of the legislation available to us. However, there is no legislation available to us to prevent an assembly.”

Mr Harwin said up to 300 people could turn out in support of Pegida and up to 500 people could attend a counter protest by other groups.

“But what they expect can always be different to the numbers that actually turn out,” Mr Harwin said.

The police chief said Pegida would be meeting from noon at Rotherham Station and march up Corporation Street at 1pm, on to Ship Hill towards the Town Hall where speeches will be held.

The far-right group will then be heading back down Ship Hill, onto Main Street and take the back roads to reach Rotherham Station by 2.30pm, he added.

It is estimated this demonstration could cost South Yorkshire Police up to £250,000.

It will be the 16th far-right protest to hit Rotherham since 2012 and the 22nd in South Yorkshire which in total have cost the police force more than £4 million.

Mr Harwin explained why the force had no powers to stop this latest protest.

He said: “You will probably have heard talk of a section 13 order which can be used to ban a procession but strict criteria has to be met and in this case it isn’t.

“The right to protest is covered by the Human Rights Act as is the right to peaceful enjoyment of our local environment.

“We work closely with local residents and the local businesses to ensure we do everything possible to minimise the impact on them and strike a balance between policing a peaceful protest and allowing people to enjoy Rotherham town centre.

“The protesters have requested to use certain locations and we’re currently considering the impact this would have on local people.

“We’ll also look at the route they take, the number that attend and the timings of the event as these are factors which we can influence to ensure we strike this balance.

“We will be using restrictions on the number of people that can attend, the location of the protests and the timing of the protests.

“The exact details are still being finalised and we will share information closer to the time on Twitter (@syprotherham) to allow people to plan their days but it’s most likely to impact the afternoon”.