[News] Sarah Everard: Priti Patel calls for 'external view' of vigil policing

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Home Secretary Priti Patel has called for an "external view" of decisions taken regarding the policing of a vigil in memory of Sarah Everard on Saturday.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan also wants an independent investigation of Met Police actions at the event on Clapham Common.

The police have been criticised after they were seen handcuffing women and leading them away.

Ms Patel said she had read a report from police chief Cressida Dick, but "questions still need to be answered".

The home secretary added she would ask Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary to look into the matter.

Mr Khan said he too had spoken to Dame Cressida at a meeting in City Hall on Sunday, but added: "I am not satisfied with the explanation they have provided."

"I will now be asking Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary [HMIC] to conduct a full independent investigation of events yesterday evening and in previous days. I am also asking the Independent Office for Police Conduct [IOPC] to investigate the actions of police officers yesterday evening."

Several hundred people gathered on Clapham Common on Saturday evening to pay tribute to 33-year-old - whose death has prompted a public debate over women's safety - despite Covid restrictions.

The official vigil had been called off earlier in the day after organisers said the force had failed to "constructively engage" on how it could be held in a Covid-secure way.

Organisers Reclaim These Streets had urged mourners to light candles and shine other lights on their doorsteps at 21:30 GMT - to coincide with the time Ms Everard was last seen on 3 March.

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One video posted online from the vigil at Clapham Common showed officers removing women who were standing by the bandstand.

Cries of "shame on you" and "let them go" could be heard from onlookers. The video showed them being put in a police van and driven away.

Jamie Klingler, from Reclaim These Streets, which had been organising the official vigil, said the event would have been "a lot safer" if it had been held officially, adding the group had 50 stewards who were "trained and ready to go".

Police said four arrests were made at the vigil to "protect people's safety".

"We told the Met that it was going to be worse if we didn't have the organisation that we already had planned that was Covid-safe," she said.

The group added in a statement that it was asking Dame Cressida "to meet us urgently" to explain the actions taken by police.

The Met defended its response to the vigil, saying it was the "only responsible thing to do" to ensure public safety. But the force added that a review will be carried out to see if "lessons can be learned".

A woman at the gathering in Clapham Common hold a sign that reads: "Killed by the system we're told protects"
image captionDame Cressida Dick joined police officers at Clapham Common earlier in the week as part of reassurance patrols
Home Office minister Victoria Atkins told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show the scenes were "incredibly upsetting", adding that it was "right" the force "explain their actions - both to the democratically elected politicians and the public".

She told Sky News the government hopes to be "hearing explanations" from Dame Cressida "in the hours and days to come".

Asked whether the Met Police commissioner should leave her post, Ms Atkins added: "I really, really want to support the home secretary in her request to have a report from Cressida.

"The police have got a tough job in policing the coronavirus pandemic more generally at the moment."

Labour's shadow domestic violence minister, Jess Phillips, said the force had "got it wrong at every single turn".

She told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "There are a million ways that could have been organised, but the police put their foot down before they put their boot in and at every stage they made the wrong call."

Sadiq Khan, the Labour Mayor of London, said the scenes were "unacceptable" and that he was "urgently seeking an explanation" from the commissioner.

Victims Commissioner for England and Wales Dame Vera Baird QC said there was no real prospect of police successfully intervening in the crowd in Clapham on Saturday night, describing the circling of the bandstand as "quasi military".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the scenes were "deeply disturbing", while Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for Commissioner Dame Cressida to resign.

Conservative MP Caroline Nokes, who chairs the Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee, tweeted.: "In this country we police by consent - not by trampling the tributes to a woman who was murdered and dragging other women to the ground. Badly misjudged by #metpolice."