A Mas dancer 2018

The Notting Hill Carnival could end unless the Government gives more funding.

The carnival’s chairman, Ian Comfort, has asked the Culture Secretary for an unknown sum to keep visitors safe.

Since starting in 1966 the festival has seen an increase in street violence and robberies.

Last year two people were murdered.

Another eight were stabbed.

The police made 334 arrests and had fifty officers injured.

Mr Comfort warned that failure to secure money “risks compromising public safety and jeopardising the future of the carnival”.

A recent review by the carnival organisers found “critical public safety concerns” at the annual August event.

The £100,000 review findings and recommendations have not been made public.

The cost was met by Greater London Authority (GLA), Kensington and Chelsea Council and Westminster Council.

Mr Comfort told Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy that investment was needed for stewarding and crowd management.

He said those measures would allow the police to focus on “crime prevention and public protection”.

He warned that the GLA and the two councils could no longer “meet the growing operational requirements” of stewarding the event.

Last year the Metropolitan Police had 7,000 officers on the streets in and around the event.

In all, more than 14,000 officer shifts were allocated.

Matt Twist, the force’s assistant commissioner, said last year:

“While we acknowledge that crime often gets the headlines, the thing that worries me most is the crowd density and the potential for a mass casualty event.”

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport said it would “respond to the letter in due course”.