EDL Becomes biggest drain on UK police budgets
The anti-Islamic English Defence League has become the biggest single drain on public order policing manpower across the UK over the past 18 months, according to figures from the police watchdog.
The analysis by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary provides evidence that the protest group, made up largely of football hooligans, has built and sustained momentum since it was formed in early 2009.
The inspectorate’s report shows that protests involving the EDL and its Scottish and Welsh offshoots are happening at the rate of more than two a month, and that almost 12,000 officers have had to be deployed since August 2009 to police the demonstrations.
The far-right group’s continued ability to mobilise support has surprised some law enforcers, who had expected it to be a short-lived phenomenon.