UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is deeply concerned about footage of police dragging women away from a vigil for a murdered woman following heavy public criticism of the force.
- The vigil was held for Sarah Everard, who was found dead after last being seen walking home on March 3.
- Footage shows police forcefully breaking-up the vigil, which was held in a park in London
- The vigil was held in defiance of COVID-19 restrictions, which limit gatherings
London police faced an official inquiry into their actions after they intervened on Saturday night in the vigil for Sarah Everard, 33, who disappeared as she walked home on March 3.
A policeman has been charged with her murder.
“Like everyone who saw it, I was deeply concerned about the footage from Clapham Common on Saturday night,” Mr Johnson said in a statement.
The impromptu gathering took place in defiance of a police ban due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Ms Everard’s death has provoked a huge outpouring of grief and dismay in the UK at the failure of police and wider society to tackle violence against women.
Sarah Everard was last seen on March 3.(Metropolitan police via AFP
)
People will gather at Parliament Square on Monday (local time) under a banner that will say, “End Violence Against Women”.
Mr Johnson said the Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick had committed to reviewing the police action and Interior Minister Priti Patel had ordered a review on how to improve policing of such events in future.
London police arrest a mourner at a vigil for Sarah Everard.(Reuters: Hannah McKay
)
Commissioner Dick supported her officers and said that they needed to make a very difficult judgement.
“We’re still in a pandemic, unlawful gatherings are unlawful gatherings, officers have to take action if people are putting themselves massively at risk,” she said.
Kit Malthouse, Minister for Crime and Policing, rejected calls for the Police Commissioner to resign in the wake of the vigil break-up.
“I do recognise that the police are in an incredibly difficult position. I mean, throughout this pandemic, we’ve asked them to do a job that they’ve never done before, and to stand between the public and this terrible virus, in a way that none of us are used to,” Mr Malthouse said.
LoadingEarlier, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the police response was not appropriate.
“The scenes from Clapham Common are unacceptable,” Mr Khan tweeted.
“The police have a responsibility to enforce COVID laws but from images I’ve seen it’s clear the response was at times neither appropriate nor proportionate. I’m [in] contact with the Commissioner & urgently seeking an explanation.”
Reuters