Remembrance Day controversy: Harrogate MP calls on police to rethink refusal to close roads for parades

Andrew Jones, MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, said he was “surprised and disappointed” by the police’s decision to end traffic management support for smaller Remembrance Day events from now on – including Knaresborough’s.

A joint letter by North Yorkshire Police and North Yorkshire Council Highways department has advised local charities that police resources would now be focused on tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.

But Mr Jones said Remembrance Day parades were part of the “fabric and tradition of our community” and that the police should continue to close roads in support of them.

The Harrogate and Knaresborough MP said he had written to North Yorkshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner to ask the police to reverse the decision.

“This decision from North Yorkshire Police has taken everyone by surprise,” said Mr Jones.

"I am both surprised and disappointed.

"Remembrance Day and the events which take place right across our country to commemorate it are important landmarks in our civic and community life as we come together to remember and to give thanks to those whose sacrifice gave us our freedoms.

“I am very supportive of remembrance parades as part of those events.

"Every year in Harrogate, Knaresborough, Starbeck and further afield hundreds line the streets to watch parades to war memorials.

"Simply put, it is part of the fabric and tradition of our community remembrance.

“I have contacted Zoë Metcalfe, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner asking her to speak with the leadership at North Yorkshire Police and reinstate the force’s assistance with closing roads to allow parades to take place.”

The move by North Yorkshire Police is part of a wider national revision of how the use of police resources in challenging times after years of financial restrictions.

Recent years have seen larger Remembrance Day events utilise traffic management companies to ensure public safety, rather than the police.

Organisers of Remembrance Day parades are being advised to contact North Yorkshire Council to obtain a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order.