SO the English Defence League came, and it went.

After a period of disruption and the arrival of more police officers than Keighley has seen for years, and is likely to see again, the 70-or-so demonstrators disappeared.

Apart from one or two minor altercations, the two-hour visit passed off without incident.

The police will hail their operation as a success, based on the evaluation that the demonstration was trouble-free, public safety was maintained and no damage was caused to premises.

Every right-minded person in the town will of course be grateful for that and be glad that order was kept. There is no suggestion of any criticism of officers who turned out.

However, questions must be asked about the cost to the taxpayer and to the business community of Saturday's events.

And it shines a spotlight on that often-precarious dividing line between protecting people's democratic rights to demonstrate, and the human rights of those who want to go about their normal daily routines.

There is no way of knowing whether peace would have prevailed if there had been a smaller police operation at the weekend. That could only ever be conjecture.

But it is important that all the aspects of this event, including the cost, are examined to properly assess its handling and whether anything may have been done differently.

That should involve every agency and those from the community who were part of the planning to deal with the demonstration.