BOLTON’S chief of police has hit out at claims that the division showed support for the English Defence League by accepting a petition during a protest outside a local police station.

Around 40 campaigners protested outside Astley Bridge Police Station, in Crompton Way, on Saturday over the handling of a terror suspect’s case.

English Defence League (EDL) Bolton Division members organised the protest, and EDL member Paul Lancashire handed in a letter and petition to police requesting the Secretary of State for Justice, Ken Clarke MP, reconsider the decision to grant bail to a terror suspect from Bolton.

Police say they have since been criticised by some sections of the community who accused them of “siding” with the EDL by accepting the petition.

Chief Superintendent Steve Hartley said it was not the police’s job to get involved in political arguments, but to protect the public.

He said: “Police were placed in a challenging position at the weekend, as with only 48 hours notice, we were made aware of proposals to submit a petition to police in Bolton.

“We have a responsibility to work within the law and facilitate peaceful protest.

“So, while the matter itself did not involve the force, we tailored our policing response under challenging time constraints to ensure the protest took place without threatening public safety, with minimum disruption to the local community.

“Police took receipt of the petition from protesters to pass on to the relevant agency, as we would with any other group or section of the community, and the protest passed peacefully.” He added that EDL organisers should have told police earlier about their planned protest and said: “GMP respects everyone’s right to a peaceful protest and does not favour or show bias towards any political group.”

The protest was over Mohammed Hanif Umaraj Patel who was arrested at his home in Halliwell in February.

He is accused of being involved in two bomb attacks in India, in 1993, which killed an eightyear- old girl and seriously wounded 12 others.

After his arrest, Patel, aged 49, was remanded in custody while court officials decided whether he should be extradited to India.

At a High Court hearing earlier this month, Patel was granted bail on the condition he reports to Astley Bridge Police Station daily.

Mr Hartley’s comments come a day after Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan defended the policing of the EDL rally in Bolton in March, following criticism from Yasmin Qureshi, MP for Bolton South East.