Met Police DELETES tweet remembering officers who died as force reels amid Sarah Everard crisis

The Metropolitan Police today deleted a tweet remembering officers who died during their service as the force faces outrage over its manhandling of screaming women at a vigil to mourn the death of Sarah Everard.

The force had tweeted this morning to commemorate the death of officer Anthony Haines, who died after his police car crashed into a bus shelter while answering a domestic violence emergency call on 14 March 2001. 

But the tweet, which was accompanied by a video with the force’s commemorative ‘Eternal Flame’, was swiftly deleted by the force within hours of it being posted. 

The Metropolitan Police today deleted a tweet remembering officers who died during their service as the force faces outrage over its manhandling of screaming women at a vigil to mourn the death of Sarah Everard

The force had tweeted this morning to commemorate the death of officer Anthony Haines, who died after his police car crashed into a bus shelter while answering a domestic violence emergency call on 14 March 2001

The force had tweeted this morning to commemorate the death of officer Anthony Haines, who died after his police car crashed into a bus shelter while answering a domestic violence emergency call on 14 March 2001

But the tweet, which was accompanied by a video with the force's commemorative 'Eternal Flame', was swiftly deleted by the force within hours of it being posted

But the tweet, which was accompanied by a video with the force’s commemorative ‘Eternal Flame’, was swiftly deleted by the force within hours of it being posted

Met Police officer Anthony Haines who died whilst on duty in 2001

Met Police officer Anthony Haines who died whilst on duty in 2001

‘We commemorate those officers who sadly lost their lives during their service in the Metropolitan Police. We remember Police Constable Anthony Haines. Lest We Forget,’ the since deleted tweet read. 

The deleted tweet comes as calls for Cressida Dick to resign mounted after police arrested and manhandled screaming women in extraordinary clashes with demonstrators at a vigil to remember Ms Everard. 

It is common for the Met Police to remember fallen officers in tweets – at least three commemorative posts were tweeted in February. 

But Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said he has never known the Met Police to delete a remembrance tweet before and has been left ‘baffled’ by the move. 

He told MailOnline: ‘I have no idea why they have deleted it is the honest answer. I have no idea. I am shocked that they have.’

The Metropolitan Police Federation tweeted this morning: ‘Remembering Police Constable Anthony Haines, of the Metropolitan Police, who died on duty on this day in 2001. Lest We Forget.’  

Mr Marsh said: ‘We’ve run with it, quite rightly. I don’t know why they deleted it. 

‘It’s important that we never forget what our colleagues do in the line of duty. Our motto in the Federation is that we will never forget and that’s why we’ve always recognised colleagues in this way. 

‘I can’t remember any other times that they have deleted a tweet like this. It is bizarre. I’m baffled.’  

Mr Haines, who was married and had over 23 years of service in the Met Police, was killed in a horrific crash while responding to a domestic violence incident in Lewisham in 2001.  

The force have been contacted for comment. 

The Met Police have an eternal flame flickering at the centre of a pool by the entrace of their headquarters on Victoria Embankment in London as a tribute to fallen officers. 

The deleted tweet comes a day after the force faced outrage over their handling of people who attended Ms Everard’s vigil.   

Well-wishers gather beside floral tributes to honour murder victim Sarah Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common in south London on March 14

Well-wishers gather beside floral tributes to honour murder victim Sarah Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common in south London on March 14

The deleted tweet comes a day after the force faced outrage over their handling of people who attended Ms Everard's vigil

The deleted tweet comes a day after the force faced outrage over their handling of people who attended Ms Everard’s vigil

'She was only walking home': Floral tributes are placed at the bandstand in Clapham Common on Sunday, March 14, 2021, in memory of Sarah Everard

‘She was only walking home’: Floral tributes are placed at the bandstand in Clapham Common on Sunday, March 14, 2021, in memory of Sarah Everard

The vigil was planned for Saturday in memory of marketing executive Sarah Everard

The vigil was planned for Saturday in memory of marketing executive Sarah Everard, who disappeared while walking home to Brixton on March 3

A crowd of around 1,500 people gathered at Clapham Common in south London to mourn the 33-year-old marketing executive on Saturday, but scuffles broke out as police surrounded a bandstand covered in flowers left in tribute.

Dozens of police officers had moved in on the bandstand at the vigil to block access to speakers sparked tensions in the crowd and mourners started chanting ‘arrest your own’ and ‘shame on you’ as scenes quickly turned violent.    

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said she is seeking a ‘full report’ on events, describing footage from the vigil as ‘upsetting’, while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the Commissioner to ‘consider’ her leadership of the force, adding: ‘Cressida Dick has lost the confidence of the millions of women in London and should resign.’ 

Conservative MP for Folkestone & Hythe Damian Collins said: ‘Appalling scenes in Clapham last night of aggressive police action at the vigil for Sarah Everard & a justificatory statement from the Met using the language of the abuser to its victims over the years – it’s your fault, you made us do it. They need to be held to account for this.’ 

Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being held on the floor by police at the vigil, said she was arrested 'for standing there, I wasn't doing anything'.

Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being held on the floor by police at the vigil, said she was arrested ‘for standing there, I wasn’t doing anything’. 

Calls for Cressida Dick to resign have been growing after police manhandled screaming women in extraordinary clashes with demonstrators at a vigil to mourn the death of Sarah Everard (pictured: Cressida Dick urging mourners not to attend the vigil)

Calls for Cressida Dick to resign have been growing after police manhandled screaming women in extraordinary clashes with demonstrators at a vigil to mourn the death of Sarah Everard (pictured: Cressida Dick urging mourners not to attend the vigil)

Police officers arrive to police a gathering at the band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Sarah Everard, which was officially cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, was to take place on Clapham Common, south London on March 13

Police officers arrive to police a gathering at the band-stand where a planned vigil in honour of murder victim Sarah Everard, which was officially cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions, was to take place on Clapham Common, south London on March 13

And Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being held on the floor by police at the vigil, said she attended the gathering in Clapham Common yesterday in support of women who cannot walk down the street by themselves ‘because of the fear of men’.  

Ms Stevenson went viral after she was pictured being held on the ground by officers. She said she was arrested ‘for standing there, I wasn’t doing anything, they threw me to the floor’.  

When asked what demonstrators should do next, she said ‘bigger protest’. 

She said: ‘To push people away seems to me to be a dreadful piece of misjudgment. Are they really improving the chances of Covid not spreading by putting their knees in the middle of the back of young women, and putting their hands in handcuffs? It didn’t seem to me to be the right thing to do.’ 

A woman was arrested by a police officer in Clapham Common on Saturday evening as police tried to break it up

A woman was arrested by a police officer in Clapham Common on Saturday evening as police tried to break it up 

Reclaim These Streets had organised the vigil before being forced to cancel following consultation with the Metropolitan Police, which said it would be in breach in coronavirus restrictions.

After the clashes, organiser Jamie Klingler said the force’s handling of events was a sign of the ‘systemic ignoring and oppressing of women’. 

‘I think we were shocked and really, really sad and to see videos of policemen handling women at a vigil about violence against women by men… I think it was painful and pretty triggering to see,’ Ms Klingler said. 

Earlier yesterday, during more peaceful scenes, a maskless Duchess of Cambridge made a brief and unannounced visit to Clapham Common to lay daffodils in tribute to Miss Everard. 

Kensington Palace said Kate Middleton ‘remembers what it was like to walk around London at night before she was married’ and ‘wanted to pay her respects to the family and to Sarah’.

A woman reacts as she mourns at a memorial site at the Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain March 14

A woman reacts as she mourns at a memorial site at the Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain March 14

People mourn at a memorial site at the Clapham Common Bandstand, following the death of Sarah Everard

People mourn at a memorial site at the Clapham Common Bandstand, following the death of Sarah Everard

The visit came after a planned vigil was cancelled, with organisers citing the police’s ‘lack of constructive engagement’ to help make it Covid secure. Instead, officers gathered in force to break up the growing crowds

Earlier on Saturday, mourners broke down in tears as they paid their respects to the 33-year-old marketing manager who disappeared on her way home from visiting a friend on March 3. 

It comes after Scotland Yard confirmed human remains found in Kent belonged to Ms Everard. On Saturday, serving police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, was remanded in custody after appearing in Westminster Magistrates’ court charged with kidnap and murder. 

The court heard Miss Everard’s body was found inside a builder’s bag and identified through the use of dental records.