Met handling of Everard vigil breached ‘fundamental rights’

There were “multiple failings” by the Metropolitan Police in handling events at Clapham Common, according to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and the Constitution.

The group of MPs and peers has proposed amendments to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill (PCSC), which is due to be debated on Monday, as a result of the findings.

Inquiry chairman, the Labour MP Geraint Davies, said the right to peaceful protest “must be supported not suppressed by the law”, adding: “The police must not become the enforcement agency of the state against those who choose to publicly and collectively call for change – political, economic, social or environmental.

“Parliament must protect our freedoms and reject attempts to increase police power and restrict our right to peaceful protest. The police should help to facilitate the expression of peaceful protest and not drive opposition underground.”

The report comes after student Patsy Stevenson, who was arrested at the vigil, said she is preparing to start legal action against the Met if it does not withdraw a fine she was issued.

Scotland Yard faced a barrage of criticism, including calls for Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick to resign, after protesters were bundled to the ground and arrested after gathering in memory of 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was killed after disappearing while walking home.

An official report from police watchdog Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) backed the Met’s handling of the event and found no evidence of heavy-handedness.

But it hit out at the force’s “tone deaf” response to criticism of the way it dealt with protesters, saying it should have taken a more conciliatory approach.

HMICFRS inspectors were further criticised for appearing not to take into account testimony from people at the vigil in its review – something described as a “significant failing” by the parliamentary group which said made it “impossible” to give the watchdog’s findings “full weight.”

But the report acknowledged police were put in “difficult situations” due to the “ambiguity” of coronavirus rules.

Scrapping new proposed powers to limit the right to peaceful demonstrations has been suggested as an amendment to the Bill, alongside a code for policing protests.

The findings deemed new proposed powers “unnecessary” and found they placed police in an “unfair position” as officers will “be able to decide if protests go ahead and under what conditions”, eroding the “legitimacy of the police as a non-political service”.

The code would place a “duty” on police to facilitate peaceful protest and allow people to bring legal action against forces if breached, the report added.

The Government said public order laws were out of date and the measures proposed in the Bill would “in no way curtail on the right to peaceful protest” but instead allow officers to “better manage demonstrations so that legitimate protest groups can make their voices heard without disrupting the lives and livelihoods of others”.

The HMICFRS rejected the comments made about the watchdog.

A spokeswoman said: “We spoke to several members of the public who attended the vigil, and we interviewed the Reclaim These Streets organisers, police officers, politicians and officials in central and local government. We also reviewed hours of body-worn video from police officers at the vigil and other media.

“We are an independent inspectorate and all of our inspections, like this one, are objective and based on robust evidence.”

Assistant Commissioner Louisa Rolfe, from the Metropolitan Police Service, said: “Following the Sarah Everard vigil on Clapham Common, Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary conducted a thorough review of the policing response, examining in detail the actions of officers both before and during the vigil.

“That report made it clear that police officers acted proportionately and did their very best to peacefully disperse the gathering, demonstrating patience and restraint.

“HMICFRS also examined the detailed considerations officers gave to the law, specifically the right to protest in the context of the coronavirus regulations which were introduced by Parliament.

“HMICFRS concluded that officers adopted a lawful approach in their application of the regulations, both before and during the vigil.

“I stand by the actions of those officers who policed the events on Clapham Common.

“Those officers were met with an extraordinarily challenging circumstance and demonstrated the highest degree of professionalism in their engagement with those gathering.

“Officers followed national guidance on the policing of the coronavirus regulations, only taking enforcement action as a very last resort.”