Dudley pays price for EDL protest

Shopkeepers, police and council chiefs were today left counting the cost of the protest which also sparked a counter rally.

Dudley North MP Ian Austin said today: "Marching through the town meant roads were closed, shops had to shut and staff lost a day's pay and I don't think that's right – especially when times are so tough for local people."

The town centre was deserted as more than 600 English Defence League members came from across the country on Saturday. The potential threat – based on the trouble that broke out at a similar demo in the town in 2010 – forced West Midlands Police to draft in hundreds of extra officers from as far away as Wales.

Protesters gathered outside the council house on Priory Road after marching from King Street, where a 45-minute demonstration was held. A ring of steel kept the EDL apart from around 50 members of Unite Against Fascism who were in Castle Street.

Chief Superintendent Chris Johnson confirmed that 29 demonstrators had been arrested for breaching the peace. Most were released without charge. One protester was charged with assaulting a police officer, and one man who was wanted by another force for an unrelated offence was also charged.

Two fixed penalty notices were issued for obstructing police and public order offences.

Chief Superintendent Johnson said: "While West Midlands Police has no power to ban people from exercising their democratic right to express their opinions through protest, we have been planning the policing operation for months.

"Throughout all of our meetings, we encouraged businesses to open as usual. Some, however, took the independent decision to close. I fully understand why they made that choice given the impact the last demonstration in Dudley had on the town."

Leader of Dudley Council, Councillor Peter Lowe, said he was pleased with the way the protest was handled but said he was frustrated it had to happen at all.

Councillor Lowe said: "The numbers were significantly lower than was originally estimated. The EDL had said they were expecting around 2,000 protesters, but this was quickly revised to 1,000. I would say there were barely 500 there.

"The significant majority were not even from Dudley, I saw many flags being carried, from EDL North East, EDL Grimsby, EDL Nottingham, but I did not see a single EDL Dudley flag.

"This was a day Dudley was under siege from outsiders who came to spread their message of hate and fear and who have not engaged with Dudley at all.

"I think Dudley issues should be resolved within Dudley. What we do not need is people who do not understand the issues coming in and spreading their poison.

"These people do not oppose a mosque in Dudley, they oppose mosques everywhere, and that will not help us to find the best way to resolve this issue."

Dudley Council is this month due to hear whether its High Court bid to win back the land in Hall Street from the Dudley Muslim Association has been successful. If not, building will get under way this year.

Mosque member, Councillor Shaukat Ali, said the rows over the mosque application now had to be brought to an end to avoid further demonstrations.

The EDL marched through the town under police escort towards Dudley Council House where they held a rally with speeches on Coronation Gardens. Spokesman Keith Thomas said: "We were invited by EDL members in Dudley to protest against the mosque. The eighth mosque in Dudley. But we have also come to raise all the issues that concern EDL members and a lot of citizens in this country including Rotherham."

Asked whether the EDL took any responsibility for the disruption in the town, Mr Thomas said: "We didn't ask anyone to close any shops.

"It is just a big stir to oppose the EDL on safety grounds when that is just a shield to avoid criticising the Islamic threat to this country."