Sarah Everard vigil: Cressida Dick says she will not resign amid growing anger over police actions
Follow the latest updates as crowds gather outside Scotland Yard and in Parliament Square to demand end to violence against women
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Your support makes all the difference.Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has said she will not resign amid growing calls for her to step down over her department’s “disturbing” response to a vigil for Sarah Everard.
Speaking on Sky News, Ms Dick said she felt “more determined, not less” to lead the organisation following criticism of the force following the event in Clapham Common on Saturday night.
Video livestreamed from the vigil showed police officers forcibly removing women from a bandstand in the park, while officers could also be seen pushing back demonstrators at the event. Four people were arrested.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has ordered multiple investigations into the Met Police’s handling of the event and said he was left “not satisfied” by a response from Ms Dick on why police cracked down on Saturday’s vigil the way they did.
Home secretary Priti Patel has also requested a review.
On Sunday afternoon crowds gathered outside Scotland Yard for a vigil demanding an end to violence against women and to condemn the police response.
Demonstrators then converged on Parliament Square, with many protesting against the government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill with chants of “Kill the Bill” and placards reading “Times up Priti”, “End state violence”, and “Abolish the police”.
Police officers stood guard outside Downing Street and the statue of Winston Churchill but otherwise held back from intervening in the way they did at Clapham on Saturday. The Metropolitan Police said no arrests had been made during the demonstrations in Westminster.
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Thousands gather to mourn Sarah Everard and condemn police response to vigil
Maya Oppenheim, The Independent’s women’s correspondent, brings this report from today’s protests at the police response to the Sarah Everard vigil in Clapham.
“This is about so much more than just Sarah.” said protester Lucy Furneaux. “The police treatment of women last night was terrible. The policing bill the government are trying to pass this week further suppresses protest but the police can’t be more repressive than they already are.”
Thousands gather around London to mourn Sarah Everard and condemn police handling of vigil
‘All women can identify with feeling uneasy, spooking yourself out when walking home after a night out,’ attendee says
No arrests at Sarah Everard demonstrations today, say police
There have been no arrests so far today during the demonstrations in memory of Sarah Everard, according to the Metropolitan Police.
A small gathering remains outside the force’s headquarters in New Scotland Yard in Westminster.
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