LONDON (CU)_British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday (14 March) vowed to take action to better protect women following a national outpouring of outrage over the death of Sarah Everard, who went missing in London earlier this month.
PM Johnson also promised to review policing of the vigil held on Saturday night, after male officers were seen handcuffing women and removing them from the gathering.
Everard went missing on 3 March after setting out to walk home in London, and was found dead several days after. A police officer was later charged with her kidnap and murder.
The protest on Saturday, which was eventually banned owing to Coronavirus restrictions, was organised by Reclaim These Streets. The group denounced the actions of the officers, accusing them of “physically manhandling women at a vigil against male violence”.
Meanwhile, PM Johnson noted that he will hold a meeting on Monday with his crime and justice taskforce in order to discuss violence against women, while London’s police force and a watchdog would conduct separate investigations into the handling of the vigil.
“Like everyone who saw it I was deeply concerned about the footage from Clapham Common on Saturday night,” he said.
However, London Police Department has justified how the protests were handled, with police chief Cressida Dick – who is facing calls to resign – saying her officers had been put in a “really invidious position”.
“They [the officers] moved to try to explain to people, to engage with people, to get people to disperse from this unlawful gathering and many, many, many people did. Unfortunately, a small minority did not,” she said.
Some officers have also said the force was dutybound to keep people safe, particularly from COVID-19.
“Hundreds of people were packed tightly together, posing a very real risk of easily transmitting COVID-19,” Helen Ball, a senior officer from the Department said.
Nevertheless, mourners once again gathered on Sunday in Clapham to pay their respects and call for change.
