A top Met Police boss has today defended the actions of officers at the Sarah Everard vigil saying they were ‘doing their duty’, amid accusations of heavy-handedness.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House claimed police had faced abuse after asking crowds to disperse from Saturday’s memorial event at Clapham Common.
And he refused to apologise on behalf of officers, who he said had faced an ‘incredible difficult situation’.
Sir Stephen said the vigil had complied with Covid rules during the day, but had became ‘compacted’ in the evening as more people gathered.
He said this had left officers in an ‘incredibly difficult situation’ in how to enforce Covid lockdown rules.
However he told members of the told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee that the force ‘did not want to see the vigil end in the scenes we saw’.
Scotland Yard faced a huge backlash and accusations of heavy-handedness after pictures showed officers arresting women at the event in memory of Ms Evarard.
The 33-year-old marketing executive went missing in the area of Clapham Common earlier this month while walking home – sparking a national debate over the safety of women.
Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House said the Clapham Common memorial event had complied with Covid rules, but only during the day
Patsy Stevenson is pictured being held on the floor by police at the vigil on March 13
Sir Stephen (pictured) said the event had been ‘almost exclusively Covid compliant’ throughout Saturday afternoon, but had became ‘compacted’ in the evening
Ms Everard, a 33-year-old marketing executive, went missing in the area of Clapham Common earlier this month while walking home. Her remains were later discovered in Kent
Revealed: Vile message ‘cop sent to seven officers’ from Sarah Everard crime scene is sick parody of the Highway Code
By Rebecca Camber and Amelia Clarke for the Daily Mail
The sickening message allegedly sent by a rookie policeman joking about Sarah Everard’s murder emerged yesterday.
The probationary officer, aged around 22, is said to have sent the ‘meme’ – a shared joke image – to seven colleagues as he manned a cordon in woods near Ashford, Kent, where the 33-year-old’s body was found.
It shows a policeman going through six stages from abduction to murder in a pastiche of the Highway Code
It shows a policeman going through six stages from abduction to murder in a pastiche of the Highway Code.
In one image it shows the officer directing traffic holding a hand up to say ‘Stop single girl’. He then gives various signals for different sickening actions, culminating in the murder and disposal of a body.
Yesterday there were calls for the officer who allegedly sent the appalling Whats-App message to be sacked.
Miss Everard’s family are already reeling from the arrest of Metropolitan Police firearms officer Wayne Couzens, 48, on suspicion of kidnap and murder.
The meme was sent last Thursday a day after Miss Everard’s body was found. She had disappeared from a street in Clapham, south London, as she walked home from a friend’s house on March 3.
Horrified police colleagues immediately reported the message to senior officers who referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The watchdog has launched three probes following an unprecedented seven referrals for alleged blunders regarding the case so far.
The rookie officer, who has not been identified, was placed on restricted duties.
A Met Police officer has been arrested on suspicion of murder, after Ms Everard’s remains were found in Kent, adding further to the outrage about her disappearance.
And tension rose again prior to the event, when the Met Police urged organisers not to hold the vigil due to concerns over potential Covid rule breaches.
Speaking about the Met Police’s response to the event, which sparked strong calls for Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign, Sir Stephen told the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee: ‘I think the officers of this team were faced with an incredibly difficult situation.
‘On at least one occasion one of the officers went on to the bandstand himself and pleaded with the crowd to go home and disperse and was met with what I can only call abuse.
‘The reality is officers then felt they had to act to enforce the legislation that Parliament had put in place and they took the action they did.’
Asked if he would apologise for officers, he said: ‘I can’t apologise for my officers.
‘I am sorry of course that people are so upset at seeing officers enforcing legislation but the officers were doing their duty as they saw it and I will not second guess that at this moment in time.’
Sir Stephen told the Committee the event had been compliant during the day, when hundreds of people had turned out to leave flowers and cards in memory of Miss Everard.
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was one of those to visit during the day, and was filmed paying her respects at the vigil site.
But Sir Stephen said the event became ‘compacted’ as the evening went on, and as people began giving speeches at the park’s bandstand.
He said: ‘As far as we were concerned the events between midday and 6 o’clock were almost exclusively Covid compliant.
‘However, around about 6 o’clock at night my officers tell me there was a significant change in the dynamic – people began to gather around the bandstand and some people began to make speeches.
‘Inevitably when that happened the crowd compacted and compressed to hear what was being said and it became a much more difficult situation for us to reconcile with Covid legislation.
‘We believe that when the crowd density increased, Covid regulations were no longer being followed.’
He added: ‘I understand that their actions have upset people and we see the evidence of that on a daily basis and we do not underestimate the upset that has been caused, but the officers took their actions believing they were doing the right thing to protect people’s health, they were following legislation put in place by Parliament to protect the public in the middle of a health crisis.
‘That health crisis has not yet gone away.’
Ms Stevenson was filmed being arrested during the vigil at Clapham Common on March 13
Police try to break up vigil for Sarah Everard at the bandstand on Clapham Common, March 13
Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House said Saturday’s Clapham Common memorial event had became ‘compacted’ in the evening
He said Saturday’s Clapham Common memorial event had complied with Covid rules during the day
The Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, was one of those to visit during the day, and was filmed paying her respects at the vigil site
Sir Keir Starmer: Sarah Everard case must be a ‘watershed moment’ for tackling violence against women
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Sarah Everard case must be a ‘watershed moment’ for tackling the ‘epidemic of violence against women and girls’.
Sir Keir told the Commons: ‘The Stephen Lawrence case showed the poison of structural and institutional racism, the James Bulger case made us question the nature of our society and the safety of our children.
Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer said the Sarah Everard case must be a ‘watershed moment’ for tacklingnviolence against women
‘Now the awful events of the last week have lifted a veil on the epidemic of violence against women and girls.
‘This must also be a watershed moment to change how we as a society treat women and girls and how we prevent and end sexual violence and harassment.
‘I believe that if we work together, we can achieve that and the questions I ask today are in that spirit. So first, does the Prime Minister agree that this must be a turning point in how we tackle violence against women and girls?’
Boris Johnson replied ‘yes I do’, adding: ‘That event has triggered a reaction that I believe is wholly justified and understandable.’
Mr Johnson added that the Government is doing ‘everything that we can’ to make the streets safer for women.
Sir Stephen also revealed there was a sense of ‘disbelief, anger and betrayal’ in the force that an officer had been charged with the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard.
Wayne Couzens, 48, a firearms officer from Scotland Yard’s elite Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command has been arrested on suspicion of Ms Everard’s kidnap and murder.
He said the ‘abhorrent action’ did not reflect the Met he knew.
He added: ‘I know I speak on behalf of all of our officers and staff when I say how appalled we are at what happened.
‘There’s a real sense of disbelief, of anger and betrayal in this organisation. This is not what this organisation stands for.
‘My confidence in the Met remains but this action, this abhorrent action by this individual, does not in any way, shape or form characterise the organisation that I know.’
Officers faced heavy criticism for their handling of the Clapham Common event on Saturday.
Pictures and video appeared to show officers pulling women away from the area despite them giving relatively little response to police.
Later pictures showed some women being arrested on the ground with officers over the top of them.
Scotland Yard later released a statement saying the event had breached Covid restrictions and that police had taken the action to ‘protect their safety’.
Home Secretary Priti Patel later ordered a full report into the force’s handling of the gathering amid calls for Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to resign.
London’s Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan heaped pressure on Scotland Yard by saying he was ‘not satisfied’ with the explanation given by the Metropolitan Police leadership over the handling of vigil.
But Cressida Dick said she did not intent to resign and that she was ‘utterly determined’ to continue in the role.
Today it was revealed more than half of Britons support the police’s actions at the vigil, according to a new poll.
The YouGov survey revealed 53 per cent of the overall population backed officers’ decision to break up the south London gathering and arrest those who refused to leave, with only 32 per cent saying they were wrong to do so.
The YouGov survey revealed 53 per cent of the overall population backed officers’ decision to break up the south London gathering and arrest those who refused to leave, with only 32 per cent saying they were wrong to do so
Opinions were split across party lines, with a huge 71 per cent of Conservative voters agreeing that police were right to break up the gathering and arrest those who refused to leave, compared to just 37 per cent of Labour supporters
On the topic of who was most responsible for the scuffles that broke out between police and attendees, 43 per cent said ‘members of the public’ while 29 per cent blamed police
The poll of 1,672 adults found 56 per cent of men and 50 per cent of women backed the Metropolitan Police’s tactics.
On the topic of who was most responsible for the scuffles that broke out between police and attendees, 43 per cent said ‘members of the public’ while 29 per cent blamed police.
Nine per cent blamed the Government, which brought in the coronavirus restrictions limiting gatherings.
Opinions were split across party lines, with a huge 71 per cent of Conservative voters agreeing that police were right to break up the gathering and arrest those who refused to leave, compared to just 37 per cent of Labour supporters.
Nearly half (46 per cent) of those aged 18-24 said officers should not have intervened in the way they did.
Search for Sarah Everard’s mobile enters third day: Police divers resume 48-hour underwater hunt for evidence in Kent in murder probe
By Dan Sales for MailOnline
Police divers, who have already spent 48 hours looking in a Kent stream for evidence including Sarah Everard’s phone, have renewed their underwater hunt today as the search of the 300-metre stretch continued for a third day.
Officers in Sandwich Kent have focused on a 50-metre portion of Sandwich’s Delf Stream near to the town’s Ropewalk area.
Forensic officers have been concentrating on a specific area in the tourist spot for three days, meticulously rooting through bins, lifting stones and drains for the investigation.
Monday saw them take away a gold necklace discovered on top of a parking ticket machine on the first day of their search.
Then yesterday they delved into the network of drains systems snaking underneath the 4,500-population Medieval town.
But the stream has been of constant interest, with neighbouring Devon and Cornwall Police even providing divers to bolster numbers at one point.
Miss Everard went missing on March 3 as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London.
At the weekend a serving police officer Wayne Couzens, 48, was charged with her kidnap and murder and yesterday made his first appearance at the Old Bailey ahead of a plea hearing in July.
Divers are in Delf Stream this morning for a third day as they continue their hunt for evidence including Miss Everard’s phone
The divers have already spent two days looking in the 300-metre stretch of water as part of the murder investigation
They appear to have focussed on a 100-metre portion of the stream as part of their forensic combing of the area for clues
Sarah Everard, 33, went missing on March 3 after leaving a friend’s house in Clapham, sparking a week-long search
The hunt for evidence in Sandwich, Kent, has entered a third day with drains now being searched in the town
Miss Everard’s inquest will open tomorrow in Kent and but a first post mortem into her cause of death was inconclusive.
Sandwich is some 35 miles away from where Sarah’s remains were found last Wednesday in woodland in Ashford, Kent.
The Old Bailey heard yesterday Couzens had finished work in London at least nine hours before she went missing.
Details on the Diplomatic Protection Officer and his shift pattern were disclosed at his first crown court appearance on Tuesday morning.
Diplomatic Protection Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with the murder and kidnap of Miss Everard, 33
Undergrowth was previously carefully combed through by officers as they looked for anything that could be significant
Police on Tuesday switched attention to the network of drains underneath Sandwich, Kent, in the second day of searches
Officers were seen with rakes and sticks as they painstakingly went through sludge and debris in the drainage system
Couzens, who had a large injury on his head and black left eye, appeared to rock to and fro during the hearing.
It was told he faced a trial of up to four weeks, which has been pencilled in for the start of October.
The Met Police revealed that Couzens joined the force two years ago in September 2018 when he worked for a response team covering the Bromley area.
He then moved to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command in February last year.
Officers also searched under a step to the toilets, where a CCTV camera sign could be clearly seen on the wall
Met Diplomatic Protection Officer Wayne Couzens, 48, has been charged with the murder and kidnap of Sarah Everard, 33
Artist’s drawing of Wayne Couzens appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court on Saturday for his first appearance in court
The searches have come as Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick remains at the centre of a political storm after a vigil held to remember Sarah on Clapham Common on Saturday night saw scenes of police restraining and arresting women.
Boris Johnson on Monday threw his support behind her when he was asked if he still had full confidence in her.
He said: Yes, I do. The police do have a very, very difficult job. But there’s no question that the scenes that we saw were very distressing and so it is right that Tom Winsor, the inspector of constabulary, should do a full report into it.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel described footage of the vigil as ‘distressing’ but she added: ‘I continue to urge everyone, for as long as these regulations are in place, not to participate in large gatherings or attend protests.
‘The right to protest is the cornerstone of our democracy but the government’s duty is to prevent more lives being lost during this pandemic.’
A snap poll showed the public was divided on whether the vigil should have gone ahead.
The YouGov survey showed 40 per cent of Britons argue the event should have been permitted, while 43 per cent said it should not have continued.
There was also a slight gender divide, with 42 per cent of women backing the vigil, compared to just 38 per cent of men.