Martin Salter, Labour MP for Reading West, and the politician who brought the Rock Festival back to Reading in 1986 has been granted a meeting on Friday with Festival Republic boss Melvin Benn and local police inspectors following what he described as “disgraceful and downright dangerous” behaviour of a minority of festival goers on the final Sunday evening.

Mr Salter has warned that the future of the festival will be threatened unless action is taken to end the “fashion” of lighting large fires in the camp sites on the final night of the event. He will be calling for a complete ban on ad hoc camp fires and an end to the practice of selling firewood on site.

Following this year’s festival Mr Salter was contacted by festival fans who stayed up all night in the camp site guarding their tents and possessions against drunken mobs who were looking for anything to throw on their bonfires to keep them burning. These scenes were recorded and broadcast on Youtube and have called into question the crowd safety and security measures employed by the organisers - Festival Republic.

The meeting follows Mr Salter’s letter to Reading Borough Council, in which he called for all parties involved in Reading Festival to come together to improve security and to save the long term future of the event.

Mr Salter said:-

“I was less than impressed by what appeared to be a somewhat cavalier attitude by the police and the festival organisers to the very many complaints and concerns that were raised by long-standing festival fans following the disgraceful scenes on the Sunday night. However I am pleased that finally the authorities now appear to be taking these issues seriously”.

He added:-

“From what the fans have told me it was a minor miracle that more people weren’t seriously injured or even worse. A camp site, a bonfire and a drunken mob are all the ingredients of a lethal cocktail made worse by a lack of clarity over whether or not fires are permitted at all at the festival. In my view the only camp fires allowed should

be those properly organised and stewarded but preferably I would like to see the festival become a fire-free zone”.

“I have been worried that these Sunday night bonfires are becoming both fashionable and an almost expected climax to the last night at the Rock Festival. This is a view clearly shared by many festival goers who have contacted me since my intervention and provided me with evidence of the problems and where there are significant deficiencies in security and health and safety procedures. Hopefully we can put in place some sensible measures which will allow the fans to still have a great time but also a safe time”.

Mr Salter was Chairman of Reading Borough Council Leisure Committee from 1986 to 1988 and oversaw the return of the Rock Festival to Reading after a 3 year absence.