NEARLY 400 officers from six different police forces were on duty for a protest march in Wrexham the Leader has learned.
The cost to taxpayers of policing Saturday's event, which was organised by far-right group the Welsh Defence League has been described as a “very heavy cost for democracy.”
A total of 388 officers from North Wales and the neighbouring forces of Dyfed Powys, Gwent, Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester were on duty for the demonstration in the town centre, which resulted in four arrests for public order offences.
North Wales Police has not yet put a figure on the cost of the operation but has said that it is likely to be a “substantial”.
North Wales Conservative AM Mark Isherwood said: “It is unacceptable that these thugs and hooligans are exploiting liberal democracy to push their views across.
“It is because of them that we, the taxpayer, are having to pay for this.
“We do not want this waste of taxpayers’ money but we can’t criticise the police who have been forced to spend money they can’t afford, leaving less for all of us.
“We need to tackle the basis of the serious threat which are the fascists.”
North Wales Lib Dem AM, Eleanor Burnham, who lives in Wrexham, said: “This is likely to be a very heavy cost for democracy.
“Those who were in Wrexham on Saturday were extreme people with extreme views but, although I dislike what they had to say, I realise that the police had to ensure they had freedom of speech.
“However, it does bother me that we had to give them so much protection.”
The demonstration by an estimated 80 protesters, who came in from other parts of Wales and England, was organised by the Welsh Defence League, which claims to be against Muslim “extremism”.
North Wales’ temporary deputy chief constable for North Wales Police, Ian Shannon, said: “Although we are not yet able to give a final figure, clearly there has been a substantial financial cost to North Wales Police and the other organisations who worked with us.
“Public safety was our priority and a substantial and visible police operation was needed.
“Our response was considered and proportionate and we were able to deal with the protest in a controlled way.”
Protesters congregated outside the Elihu Yale pub in Regent Street before marching through the town.
Groups opposed to the Welsh Defence League organised a counter event at Queen’s Square, called Wrexham Communities Festival.
It featured a range of attractions and promoted the message that the town was against racists.
Police closed Regent Street for a period to make sure that two groups were kept apart.
Two people arrested for breaches of the peace were released without charge and another two people arrested for public order offences were given fixed penalty fines.
Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths said: “The prime consideration for the police will have been public safety and upholding law and order at a crucial time for Wrexham town centre, just as the Christmas shopping period began.
“Given the experience of other towns and cities in which fascist protests have taken place in recent months, I am confident that North Wales Police took the right decision in relation to policing levels.
“Ultimately, of course, the chief constable would make his calculations on the numbers of police that should be deployed based on the intelligence he was receiving at the time.”