Home Office refuses to grant powers to stop EDL marches in Rotherham

An application was made for the Government to allow police forces in extreme circumstances to ban certain protests.

In Rotherham, hopes were high that new legislation would allow South Yorkshire Police to ban EDL marches in the town, which have cost millions of pounds to police over the last two years and which traders say have affected business.

The Home Office has turned down the application.

The EDL has held a number of marches in the town in the wake of the Rotherham child sexual exploitation scandal.

An independent report commissioned by Rotherham Council and published in 2014 revealed that 1,400 children were sexually exploited between 1997 and 2013 by men of largely Pakistani heritage while authorities failed to act.

More to follow.