East London Lines report:
Policing for the recent English Defence League march and counter-protest in Tower Hamlets cost the Metropolitan Police £1.9 million.
Over 3,000 officers attended the march on September 7, which saw 600 EDL supporters walk from Tower Bridge to Aldgate East Station. They were met by a Unite Against Fascism counter-demonstration of 4,000 in Altab Ali Park, Whitechapel.
The march cost the Metropolitan Police £700,000 in overtime wages for officers and a further £1.2 million was incurred by diverting resources away from other areas, a Freedom of Information request revealed.