Force admits mistake over carnival injury figures

THE Metropolitan Police have admitted that there 74 officers were not injured at the Notting Hill Carnival, despite previously claiming there were.

The number was actually 60, with a huge proportion only minor injuries.

The force only admitted its mistake after a Freedom of Information request was made to the force.

Of the 60 officers who were in fact injured, a large proportion of these were ‘minor non-reportable injuries’.

After the carnival, from August 27 to 29, police said 74 officers had been injured during the celebration.

The Met Police Federation tweeted: “These are people’s sons and daughters. These are children’s mothers and fathers. This happens every year. It’s an utter disgrace.”

In fact, three of the injuries were slips, trips, or falls, 13 were from lifting and handling, and one hurt their back ‘from carrying or wearing officer safety equipment’.

Twenty-seven officers were physically assaulted, but only one of these assaults resulted in an injury lasting more than three days. Most were minor non-reportable injuries, according to the FOI shared by Gemma Abbot, a lawyer and campaigner.

Making up the rest of the numbers, five officers reported injuries where they were ‘struck by an object’ and another four who were ‘struck against’.

Two were struck with moving vehicles but only suffered ‘minor nonreportable injuries’. Out of the 60 injuries, the only unidentifiable ones were four officers who ‘ had another kind of accident’. The last injury that was reported in the FOI was an officer who was ‘exposed to a substance’ which cause a bruise on their hand.

Ninety per cent of the injuries officers suffered during Carnival were ‘minor non-reportable’. The majority of injuries did not last longer than one day.

There were three officers whose injuries lasted over three days – one back injury from an assault, a sprained knee from lifting/handling and a swollen foot.

The swollen foot was from ‘another kind of accident’.

Finally, two officer’s injuries lasted for more than seven days – one had a muscle strain from being ‘struck against’ and another hurt their shoulder from a lifting/ handling injury.

PA IMAGES The carnival was heavily policed by Met officers