Organisers of a planned vigil for Sarah Everard are bringing a legal challenge against the Metropolitan Police force over its handling of their proposed event.
Reclaim These Streets (RTS) proposed a socially-distanced vigil for the 33-year-old, who was murdered by former Met officer Wayne Couzens, near to where she went missing in Clapham, south London, in March last year.
The four women who founded RTS withdrew from organising the event, which was also intended as a protest about violence against women, and say they faced fines of up to £10,000 each after the force told them it would be an illegal gathering under lockdown rules in place at the time.
A spontaneous vigil then took place on Clapham Common, for which the force came under criticism over its policing before being cleared by a police watchdog.
Lawyers for RTS will argue at a two-day hearing starting today that the Met’s handling of the event breached their human rights to freedom of speech and assembly, and are asking the High Court to make a declaration to that effect.
The four, whose case is opposed by the force, are also seeking damages for the alleged breach, which will be donated to charity if their case is successful.
Anna Birley, one of the four claimants, said in a statement ahead of the hearing: “We are really pleased to be taking this important case forward.
“When we organised the vigil, we never imagined we would end up in the High Court. We believed then, as we believe now, that we have a very clearly defined right to protest, and that if there was ever a reasonable excuse for exercising this right, it was last March when a young woman was abducted, raped and killed by a then serving police officer."
RTS took urgent legal action in March last year, asking a High Court judge to make “an interim declaration” that any ban on outdoor gatherings under the coronavirus regulations at the time was “subject to the right to protest”.
But the judge declined to grant the group’s request and also refused to make a declaration that an alleged force policy of “prohibiting all protests, irrespective of the specific circumstances” was unlawful.
RTS was set up after the disappearance of Ms Everard prompted a public outcry about women’s safety.
The event was due to take place at Clapham Common bandstand, close to where Ms Everard went missing.
Couzens, 49, was given a whole life sentence, from which he will never be released, at the Old Bailey in September after admitting her murder.
The policing of the spontaneous vigil that took place drew criticism from across the political spectrum after women were handcuffed on the ground and led away by officers.
But a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services concluded the police “acted appropriately” when dealing with the event but also found it was a “public relations disaster” and described some statements made by members of the force as “tone deaf”.
The case will be heard by Lord Justice Warby and Mr Justice Holroyde from 10.30am today.
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