ES Views Letter of the Day: Chinatown crush was unacceptable

Horrific is the only word to describe the overcrowding scenes in Chinatown on Sunday as London celebrated the Chinese New Year.

Children and old people were being crushed, people were swearing at each other and threatening physical violence and some children had to be lifted to safety. There was not a policeman, steward or representative of Westminster council in sight, nor were there crash barriers in place. It was mayhem.

With health and safety cited time and time again by officials when it suits them, this was a disaster waiting to happen. If a fight had broken out, dozens if not hundreds would have been at risk of injury.

The Met certainly had a presence on Shaftesbury Avenue but when a concerned father made his frustration clear with a policeman, he said they were “aware of the situation and would look into it”. Would that have been after a child was crushed to death?
Adrian Mills