Metropolitan Police officers “acted appropriately” at the Clapham Common vigil held in memory of Sarah Everard, a review has found.
The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has found that the force “was justified in adopting the view that the risks of transmitting COVID-19 at the vigil were too great to ignore”.
The vigil for the marketing executive, whose body was found a week after she went missing in London, was held on Saturday 13 March despite police warning it would breach COVID lockdown regulations.
Sarah Everard went missing on 3 Marc and her body was found in woodland near Ashford in Kent a week later
The Reclaim These Streets event started off peacefully with hundreds of people laying flowers at the bandstand on Clapham Common but the atmosphere became tense after a few hours when a number of women were bundled to the ground and arrested.
The report states that “officers remained calm and professional when subjected to abuse” and “did not act inappropriately or in a heavy handed manner”.
But it said that there was insufficient communication between police commanders about changing events on the ground.
The watchdog also found that the force should have adopted “a more conciliatory response” amid criticism after the event and that public confidence in the Met Police had “suffered as a result” of its policing.
The handling of the event was heavily criticised, with Boris Johnson saying he was “deeply concerned” by footage showing officers detaining women.
Police surround the bandstand in Clapham Common, London
Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick dismissed calls to resign and defended the force’s actions.
Sir Thomas Winsor, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, said: “Our civilian police model is precious. Officers are our fellow citizens, invested by the community to keep the community safe.
“They rely upon and are entitled to receive public support when they act lawfully, sensitively and proportionately; in this case, in the face of severe provocation and in very difficult circumstances, they did just that.”
The Duchess of Cambridge was among those who paid their respects earlier in the day and was seen walking around the site reading the messages left on the tributes.
A minute’s silence for Ms Everard was held at 6pm when the crowd had reached around 500 people and the police presence had grown.
It was shortly after this that chanting began and a local councillor asked people to go home.
The Duchess of Cambridge pays tribute at the vigil
As it got dark the police started to urge a group of people on the bandstand to leave and told them COVID regulations were being broken.
The bandstand was soon almost surrounded by officers and the atmosphere started to become more hostile. It was at this point that a number of women appeared to be shoved and people starting shouting at the police.
Chants of “all cops are b******s” were directed towards officers on the bandstand.
Met Police officers grabbed women stood within the bandstand before leading them away, to screaming and shouting from onlookers.
By 8pm the clashes had finished and the Metropolitan Police said four people were arrested for public order and coronavirus regulation breaches.