Watchdog backs police handling of Sarah Everard vigil

Sarah Everard went missing on March 3 while walking home after visiting a friend in south London, and her body was found in woodland near Ashford in Kent a week later

People in the crowd at the Sarah Everard vigil on Clapham Common, south London on March 13 (Victoria Jones/PA)

A watchdog in the UK has backed the Metropolitan Police over its handling of the Sarah Everard vigil, saying officers were not heavy-handed and remained “calm and professional”.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) was called in to examine the force’s actions after women who attended the event on March 13 were bundled to the ground and arrested.