RIOTS - Aftermath: As Labour leader Ed Miliband visits scene of riots, local businesses call for government rethink on police cuts

BUSINESSES in Camden Town have joined growing calls for the government to rethink cuts to police numbers in the wake of the Camden Riots.
 

Some of the biggest and best known in the area had a private meeting with Ed Miliband on Monday, shortly after the Labour leader had given a speech to party members at Haverstock School in Chalk Farm.
 

The New Journal was invited to listen in as Mr Miliband was told that takings were down at least 30 per cent over the weekend as punters stayed away. It is presumed people avoided areas such as Chalk Farm Road on Friday and Saturday for fear of repeat violence, despite extra police teams being out on the street.
 

Mr Miliband was urged to take a leading role in winning a U-turn on government plans to merge neigbourhood teams and cut the numbers of sergeants on the patch.

It was revealed at the meeting that groups of potential rioters heading for Chalk Farm had been broken up and stopped by police as they headed to the trouble zone from Kilburn and Kentish Town.

Intelligence had led businesses, particularly bars, restaurants and clubs to close early last Monday as the genuine prospect of disorder grew. 
 

Those predictions being fed to police proved right, but businesses believe, in comparison to other areas of London and the rest of the country, the potential for even worse damage was to some extent averted.
 

At Monday’s private session, business leaders warned Mr Miliband that gains made against crime in Camden Town over the past five years were at risk if money for police and support officers were withdrawn.
 

Conservative ministers have tried to calm fears by insisting their plans will not lead to less “visibility” of police officers on the streets and the overall aim is to cut time and money spent on layers of paperwork.
 

But riots in Camden and elsewhere last week have done little to breed confidence in the changes. The fear of a repeat of the scenes which led to the looting of Evans Cycles, LA1 fashion store and Sainsbury’s among others is still lingering.
 

Chris Shaw, from the Shaw Corporation, one of London’s foremost property consultancy firms, said: “The local police knew in advance that groups were coming down from Kilburn and Kentish Town last Monday and they managed to dissipate them before they arrived. Local intelligence is obviously incredibly important and, at this moment in time, we want that resource to be retained.”
 

Members of Camden Town Unlimited (CTU), the business group for the area, say work with police and the council has almost eradicated street drug dealing that used to be commonplace.
 

Alex Proud, who runs Proud gallery and bar, said: “You very rarely see drug dealers here now and the community is proud of what it has achieved in the last five years. What we don’t want is to lose the resources that have had a huge effect on one of the most iconic parts of London.”
 

He added: “Most of Camden Town is down 30 to 40 per cent this weekend. If this happened a lot, we would be talking about 10 per cent of our  profit over the year just gone.”
 

There was a short discussion about the immediate prospect of similar disorder with worries centering on the Notting Hill Carnival. 
 

Mr Shaw told Mr Miliband: “We are very worried about what might happen. For the first time in the riots we saw gangs come together, and, if that was to happen at the Notting Hill Carnival, that could be mayhem.” 
 

Matthew McMillan, from CTU, said there needed to be marketing to show businesses had bounced back quickly from the disorder, akin to the reaction to the Camden Fire three years ago.
 

Mr Miliband said the concerns of business leaders were “very serious”. He added: “I think they (Coalition) will have to give way on police cuts. I have thought that for some time and they haven’t so far – so we will have to keep pressing.”
 

Mr Miliband had earlier walked around Chalk Farm Road and seen the damage at Evans Cycles. In a speech to an audience largely made up of Labour supporters, he called for an inquiry into the riots which went beyond the standard committee investigations led by MPs.
 

He said: “People who talk about the sick behaviour of those without power, should talk equally about the sick behaviour of those with power. Let’s not pretend that the crisis of values in our society is confined to a minority only at the bottom when we see the morality of millions of hard working, decent people under siege from the top as well. Let’s talk about what it does to our culture.”
 

He added: “Too often we have sent a message from the top to the bottom of Britain’s society that says: ‘anything goes, you are in it for yourself. As long as you can get away with it, who cares?’
 

“We hear lots of talk now about role models for communities, but what role model has been provided by the elites of our society? So, no, the values crisis is not confined to a so-called underclass.”
 

• Holborn and St Pancras MP Frank Dobson has told businesses to call him if they are hit by delays to riot damage insurance claims. He said: “I hope organising help will be done quickly, but I worry even the smallest delays can really hurt small businesses. If people want any help with claiming insurance, then I urge them to contact me so I can help make sure it is dealt with speedily.”