the commissioner of the metropolitan
police says she won't resign
despite calls to quit over the forces
handling of last night's vigil
in memory of sarah everard dame cressida
dick defended the tactics of her
officers
in trying to clear the area on clapham
common in south london
with the police saying the gathering
posed a covert risk
sarah everard who was 33 disappeared on
her way home in clapham 12 days ago
her body was later found in woodland in
kent
critics say police tactics last night
were heavy-handed
mps will tomorrow debate a new bill
giving forces wider powers
to deal with public gatherings and
demonstrations this report from our home
editor mark easton
does contain some flash photography
within moments of being taken this
picture of police holding down a woman
on clapham common last night became a
symbol
of female defiance against male
aggression
as darkness descended on the vigil for
sarah everard
what had been a peaceful and respectful
demonstration of female solidarity
turned ugly
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police moved in to disperse the crowd
there was pushing and shoving with a
number of women taken away in handcuffs
four were arrested for public order and
coronavirus regulation breaches
among them dania as i was sat in the van
as
my hands were handcuffed i was just
thinking
gosh all i wanted was to stand with
other women
the fear that has been brewing for years
from a very young age we get harassed
and we're aware of the abuse
and violence against women
as the police surrounded the bandstand
emotions intensified
they had grabbed me they was being
really aggressive twisting my arms you
know
they had put me in the handcuffs the the
the beautiful women stood with me
one of them as the pictures are
circulated she was thrown to the floor
you know she had police officers on her
back you know with their knees their
feet
the police are saying that they had to
act for public safety reasons
i personally be in there didn't see
anyone being at risk
the sight of women who'd come to stand
together against male violence being
manhandled has led to a chorus of
criticism
from across the political spectrum all
eyes on this woman
the commissioner of the met dane
cressida dick forced to explain her
officer's actions to the home secretary
and the london mayor today
and defend herself to the press are you
considering your position
no i'm not they have to make these
really difficult calls
and i don't think anybody should be
sitting back in an
armchair and saying well that was done
badly or i would have done it
differently
without actually understanding what they
was going through their minds
the metropolitan police were already
being investigated for events around
the sarah everard murder inquiry now
scotland yards leaders
find themselves under increasing
political pressure
the focus really of this weekend should
be on sarah everard and her family
but it is right also that the police are
you know explain their actions
they should have been allowed to protest
to have their vigil to come together
um in peace and i was very disturbed to
see the police
action i think it was wrong and i'm
pleased it's now going to be
reviewed there is evidence to suggest
that some of those who attended the
vigil had been looking for trouble
and the police have been criticized
before for not intervening in protests
during the pandemic
notably by the home secretary this
evening a crowd of protesters gathered
outside scotland yard
presenting a new challenge to the
police's ability to handle the
outpouring of anguish
sparked by sarah everard's death up to
now
ahmet stands accused of getting it badly
wrong
mark easton bbc news
sarah everard's death has shown a
critical light on the issues of violence
against women
and the safety of our streets our
correspondent katie austin
has been to clapham in south london to
speak to some of the women who attended
last night's vigil
about why it was important for them to
go
catherine and anna maria made the short
walk from their homes to clapham common
this afternoon
i mainly wanted to pay respects to sarah
everard and her family
it's had a massive impact on me as a
woman
living around here and i think it has so
many others
both went to last night's vigil despite
being aware of lockdown rules
they say they wore masks and kept social
distance
we couldn't not go because it affects
every single one of us
it is extremely rare for a woman to be
abducted off the street
but in recent days many women have been
sharing other experiences on social
media
of feeling afraid being harassed or
assaulted
every woman i know has a story and it's
to
to think about but also express i guess
anger we need the conversation to
involve everyone of course we need women
to share their stories but what was so
great about last night was
yeah there were a lot of girls but there
were so many men naomi
also chose to attend yesterday i didn't
like being told that i wasn't allowed to
she felt it was too important looking at
sarah you just think
it could have been me or it could have
been my friends or it could have been my
loved one so easily
and just to carry that fear around with
you every day it just
weighs you down the sea of flowers at
the band stand
continued to swell today people stood
in reflective silence the number of
tributes which have been left and the
number of people still coming here today
is just one sign of how widely sarah's
story has resonated
a week that's included international
women's day and
mother's day has also seen mourning for
the shocking loss of a woman's life
and a wider national conversation about
male violence and female safety
katie austin bbc news well our special
correspondent lucy manning is at
westminster forest tonight lucy the
political pressure
on the metropolitan police and cressida
dick in particular
it remains intense
well yes it couldn't have been a more
damaging week for the metropolitan
police and
for the commissioner a member of their
own force charged with the murder
of sarah everard and then women going
out in sympathy and also
to stand against violence feeling that
they were on the receiving end of
violence in
in the police response and it's fair to
say those pictures
did not look good and the politicians
agreed the
mayor of london said the scenes were
completely unacceptable the home
secretary
saying that there were more questions
that needed to be answered but i think
the truth is they could have withdrawn
their confidence
in cressida dick today and they didn't
do that and
if they had withdrawn their confidence
she would have had to resign
so i think her job is safe for the
moment this review
will take some time but the big question
is
what it's done for the confidence of
women in the metropolitan police
you have the advisor to the home
secretary on violence against women
saying
the police look like they were abusers
last night so goodness knows what other
people are thinking as well
the police in their defense the police
unions talk about the difficulty of
these coveted regulations
and having to police them and also the
met point out that many women during the
day did go and lay flowers there was no
problem with that the duchess of
cambridge obviously
was one of those tomorrow the politics
does return here because the police bill
is going through the commons that gives
the police even more laws when it comes
even more control over protests
labor says it will oppose lucy thank you
for that lucy manning there at
westminster