SIR – The Council advises the people of Bradford to keep out of their own city centre on Saturday and has made the following arrangements to accommodate the EDL.

  • They will be allowed to assemble outside the Queen pub and therefore have access to alcohol throughout.
  • Bridge Street will be closed to allow this and presumably non-EDL visitors arriving at the Interchange will have to exit at the back somewhere.
  • Centenary Square – which has become a successful forum for people of all ages and backgrounds – will be closed to the public.

Given that the EDL’s demonstration here is – no doubt deliberately – taking place the weekend before Eid, it does seem that the plans to manage it are extremely generous to the EDL and completely dismissive of the local community.

It is likely that there will be more people than usual in the city centre as final preparations are being completed for Eid and is no guarantee that EDL members will not break through the police ring, as they did recently in Hull, where they went on to attack people in the street and damage Muslims’ properties.

The role of Police Commissioner was promoted as one whose intention was to ensure that the rights and views of local communities were taken into account by the police. The reverse has clearly been the case here and the forward planning of the Council and the police is shameful.

Ian Roberts, Old Langley Lane, Baildon