Oxford Mail reports that Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown said the Oxford Union should pay the policing and security costs of Tommy Robinson's visit on Wednesday. Brown said the debate would require extensive police resources and road closures, and she warned that residents and businesses would face considerable disruption.
Susan Brown and Oxford Union
Brown said the Oxford Union must meet the full cost of staging the event rather than leaving Oxford's taxpayers to pay the bill. In her statement on Monday, she said she was deeply concerned by the Union's invitation to Robinson and said the city would face a large-scale security operation.
She also said: "Oxford is a proudly diverse, multicultural city," and added: "Whilst we are committed to free speech and open debate, that must be balanced against ensuring all our residents can live free from hatred, intimidation and harm."
Wednesday's debate on Islam
Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, is set to speak at the Oxford Union in a debate about Islam. The Oxford Union postponed the original debate to allow time for planning, before setting Wednesday as the new date.
The council said the visit would bring extensive police resources and road closures. Brown said: "This will cause considerable disruption for local residents and businesses, and comes at a substantial cost," and the Jolly Farmers Pub warned that businesses were boarding up windows ahead of the visit.
Oxford disruption costs
The pub said: "Businesses are going to suffer. Communities are going to suffer. Our reputation as a city is going to suffer," and urged the Union to withdraw the invitation. Robinson led thousands in a Unite the Kingdom rally in London on 16 May, where 20 people were arrested.
For Oxford residents and businesses, the immediate issue is not the debate itself but the bill and the disruption around it. Brown has put the cost question directly to the Oxford Union, and the Union's next decision will determine whether Oxford taxpayers are left carrying any of the expense.
