Editorial

It seems Scotland Yard have totally lost the plot and are showing they are incapable of understanding that the students that attended the demonstrations are just the tip of the iceberg in the wave of discontent towards the public sector budget cuts expected to take place across the UK in 2011.  The Met police commissioner according to the FT is "not having a good war".

With a tough job to police and maintain a fair balance in policing, the Met Police who knew that students would be protesting on Thursday again failed to maintain law and order.  Over the weekend and Monday student bodies are organising other protests in central London, with feelings rising and anger at record levels at the handling of the disturbances by the police.  We need leadership, where is Mayor Johnson?  Why has Boris Johnson not been more pro-active in measures to control demonstrators and support the Met Police maintain law and order?

Not even able to secure the safety of the heir to the throne, Prince Charles and his wife, Sir Paul Stephenson the Commissioner of the Met Police has some very hard questions to answer.

Scotland Yard yesterday issued a statement and said:

"The MPS is very clear that we support the public's democratic right to peacefully protest. Whilst a large majority of protestors came to demonstrate peacefully, a significant number came intent on violence. This will not be tolerated and anyone identified as being actively involved in criminality at the student protests will be prosecuted."

With deep public sector cuts likely to hit the Met Police hard in 2011, the number of frontline officers according to sources in Whitehall are likely to be reduced by up to 20%, are we then likely to see the disgruntled cops demonstrating too?  2011 will be the year when many more groups will be demonstrating against the coalition Government, but it will be unrest from within the backbenches of the Conservative and Liberal Democrats who will test David Cameron and Nick Clegg the most.