London police to appeal against ruling rights of Sarah Everard vigil organisers breached

People leave floral tributes at the band stand in Clapham Common (Steve Parsons/PA)

The London Metropolitan Police will appeal against a High Court ruling that it breached the rights of organisers of a vigil for Sarah Everard with its handling of the event, the force has said.

In a ruling on March 11, two senior judges found the Met’s decisions in the run-up to the planned event were “not in accordance with the law”.

Reclaim These Streets (RTS) had planned the socially-distanced vigil for 33-year-old Ms Everard, who was murdered by former Met officer Wayne Couzens, near to where she went missing in Clapham, south London, in March last year.

It’s important for policing and the public that we have absolute clarity of what’s expected of us in law

The force said in a statement on Friday it had “taken time to consider” the decision but that it wanted to “resolve what’s required by law when policing protests and events” in future.

“It’s important for policing and the public that we have absolute clarity of what’s expected of us in law,” it said.

“This is why we feel we must seek permission to appeal the judgment in order to resolve what’s required by law when policing protests and events in the future.”