A retired Scotland Yard detective has called for the Government to stop funding Notting Hill Carnival in a furious rant on GB News.

Mike Neville told The People's Channel that taxpayers should not be paying for an event that sees "an average of ten stabbings every year".

His intervention comes as carnival organisers have written to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy requesting urgent Government funding to address "critical public safety concerns" identified in a recent safety review.

The leaked letter warns that the future of Europe's largest street party is "in jeopardy" without immediate financial support from the Government.

Mike Neville fumed that the taxpayer should not be paying for the event

Speaking to GB News, Neville fumed: "It's crazy, isn't it? We're talking at least £12million to police that, most of which is paid as overtime as it is held over the bank holiday.

"Now, the concerns are these: one, it’s very dangerous. The situation is unbelievable to have such masses of crowds in a residential area.

"Secondly, is the levels of crime. There's an average of ten stabbings every year. As you said, there were two murders last year and a murder in 2022.

"So my view is they should not be funding this event unless they’re prepared to move it. And if they’re prepared to move, then they should move it somewhere like Hyde Park, which can be policed and controlled with security properly.

"Also, people can pay to go there because why should me, you, or any other viewer or listener be paying for this event? It’s just not on.

"It’s a waste of taxpayers’ money. People want to go to this event, let them pay for it."

Notting Hill Carnival is infamous for the violence that often occurs at the event

Neville argued that if similar behaviour occurred at other events, particularly those attended by "white working-class lads", immediate arrests would follow.

He said: "If somebody behaved the same way at a football match, twerking with female officers to the point of indecent assault, openly smoking drugs, or abusing the police, they'd be arrested straight away."

The retired detective insisted that any event with "ten stabbings a year and two murders last year" would "simply not be allowed to go ahead" in other circumstances.

He proposed relocating the carnival to Hyde Park, where it "can be policed and controlled with security properly" and suggested that "if it's that important culturally, they can move it."

Carnival Village Trust chair Ian Comfort wrote that funding was "essential to safeguarding the future and public safety of this iconic event", which attracts approximately two million people over the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The independent safety review, commissioned by carnival organisers and funded at a cost of £100,000 by the Greater London Authority, Kensington and Chelsea Council and Westminster Council, identified issues requiring additional resources to resolve.

Comfort stated: "Limited resourcing has restricted the police service's ability to respond to growing operational pressures."

He warned that failure to secure immediate additional funding "risks compromising public safety and jeopardising the future of the carnival", though he did not specify the amount needed.

The safety review's full findings and recommendations have not been made public.

The Metropolitan Police deployed approximately 7,000 officers for the 2024 carnival, with a total of around 14,000 officer shifts across the entire event.