UK police must explain themselves over unrest at vigil to mourn woman's murder — minister

14 March 2021 - 11:26 By Reuters

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Police detain a woman as people gather at a memorial site in Clapham Common Bandstand, following the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, in London, Britain March 13 2021.
Image: REUTERS/Hannah McKay

London's police force must explain its actions against people gathered at a vigil to mark the killing of a 33-year-old woman, home office minister Victoria Atkins said on Sunday, after an outcry over images of mourners being dragged away by officers.

Reuters witnesses saw police drag several women away from a gathering on Clapham Common, near to where Sarah Everard disappeared as she walked home on the evening of March 3.

London police clashed with mourners and protesters after more than a thousand people gathered to mark the killing of 33-year-old Sarah Everard, hours after the police officer charged with her murder appeared in court https://t.co/0hDTJA8XGt pic.twitter.com/BXlqab9bik
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 14, 2021

“Last night people were very, very upset, there was a great deal of emotion, completely understandably, and the police, being as they are operationally independent, will be having to explain that to the home secretary,” Atkins, told Sky News.

Everard's disappearance, for which a police officer has been charged with murder, has led to a wave of accounts from women about the dangers of walking the streets alone at night, and dismay at the failure of police and wider society to tackle this.